EUROCHIP-EUROPRACTICE 20 Years of Design Support for European Universities Dr Carl Das Dr John McLean IMEC STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

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EUROCHIP-EUROPRACTICE20 Years of Design Support
for European UniversitiesDr Carl Das
Dr John McLeanIMEC STFC
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
On behalf of the EUROPRACTICE IC Partners
10th May 2010 Darmstadt, Germany
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Apologies
Carl Das, IMEC
John McLean, RAL/STFC
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Overview

• Short history
• Eurochip
• EUROPRACTICE
• Ongoing evolution of EUROPRACTICE services
• The future
• Summary

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History (1) EUROCHIP

• 1989 VLSI Design Training Action
• European Action funded by EC (European
  Commission)
• Goal to help European universities train
  students in VLSI design by providing
• selected universities (50) with lecturer post,
  modern IC CAD tools, IC prototyping, IC tester
• other universities (68 initially) had access to
  IC prototyping, and other services on a pay basis
• Service Centre (EUROCHIP) was established to
  select, negotiate, coordinate and provide the
  services
• IMEC, RAL, DTU, GMD, CMP CNM
• About 4 CAD packages - about 3 technologies
• 1995 Action ended about 400 universities had
  taken up IC design

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EUROCHIP Executive Board 1989-1995
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History (2) EUROPRACTICE

• 1995 EUROPRACTICE IC project was started as a
  follow-on to EUROCHIP and ChipShop
• European Service funded by EC
• Goal
• to provide European universities and research
  institutes with affordable advanced CAD tools for
  IC, MCM and Microsystems
• to offer European universities, research
  institutes and industry access to modern and
  advanced IC technologies at low cost
• to offer industry a service for low volume IC
  fabrication
• Non-European universities and industry can make
  use of the fabrication service on a
  pay-as-you-use basis
• Partners IMEC, RAL, Fraunhofer IIS, Nordic
  VLSI, Delta

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History (3) EUROPRACTICE

• Since 2000
• Partners IMEC, RAL, Fraunhofer IIS
• Funding model has evolved
• EC funding only for European Universities and
  Research Institutes
• Contribution to technical support
• Provides prototype price reduction
• However European institutes pay 85 of their
  total costs
• Companies pay full costs
• Customer base
• 530 European Universities and 100 European
  Research Institutes
• 500 others Companies and non-European
  Institutes

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Europractice IC Service Structure
EUROPRACTICE IC Service
Maintain 2 separate web sites to ensure that the
high volume of customer transactions for Design
Tools and MPW activities do not get mixed up!
In operation for 20 years! 1989 1995
Eurochip 1995 onwards EUROPRACTICE
www.europractice-ic.com
www.europractice.stfc.ac.uk
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Ethos

• Complete flows

Design Tools
Design Kits
IC Fabrication
Now FTP
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Multi Project Wafer (MPW) RunsReduce the Cost of
IC Prototyping

• Mask cost is shared between customers
• Wafer fabrication cost is shared between
  customers
• You pay as you use
• Many MPW runs scheduled in each technology
• Europractice performs extensive DRC, ERC, special
  substrate checks on all submitted designs

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Original Offering
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Foundries and Technologies Currently Available
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Design Flows from Leading Design Tool and IP
Vendors
Plus associate partnership agreements with
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Staying on the technology curve

• The EUROPRACTICE offering is constantly improving
• Microelectronics is one of fastest moving areas
  of study
• Keeping up with Moores Law
• New design tools, flows and areas of interest
  emerge
• University behaviour also changes rapidly
• Constantly watch university trends
• Improve offering to match university requirements
• When possible anticipate requirements

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EUROPRACTICE IC fabrication trends
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Stimulating IC design

• Minimum silicon area at low geometries was a
  barrier for many
• 45k
• Solution was mini_at_sic
• EUROPRACTICE buys a block and sub divides it
• 3x3 _at_130nm and 180nm
• 2x2 _at_ 90nm
• mini_at_sic pricing
• 5k

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Further Stimulation
Tune Design tools, kits and processes

• Best Design Tools
• Foundry Design Kits
• mini_at_sic

Design Tools
TRAINING
Design Kits
IC Fabrication
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IDESA

• An EC project to promote Deep Sub Micron IC
  design
• Closely coupled to EUROPRACTICE
• A series of advanced practical courses on
• Digital IC Design
• Analogue IC Design
• RF IC Design
• Design for Manufacture
• Uses EUROPRACTICE tools and processes
• Course materials are reproducible
• A full talk will appear later in the programme

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Results of stimulation activities
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• Three of the worlds largest EDA vendors
• The three most popular design tool vendors within
  EUROPRACTICE
• The 400 club

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• Popular DK and SC Compiler C based design tools
• Ceased Trading in 2009

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• EUROPRACTICE negotiates with Mentor Graphics
• Products added to portfolio as C-Synthesis bundle
• EUAs signed where required
• Continuity of licenses maintained
• Bundle enhanced with Catapult C

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• HSPICE
• Meta Software
• Avant!
• Synopsys
• ASM Bundle
• HSPICE
• HSPICE RF
• Saber Simulator
• SaberSketch Interactive
• SaberScope
• Saber Libraries
• Saber Analysis
• Custom Designer LE
• Custom Designer SDL
• Custom Designer SE
• CustomSim Fastspice simulator
• Cadabra
• Spice Explorer

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• Tools for System Design
• Processor Designer very popular
• C-Compiler Designer required third party content

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• 23rd March 2010 Synopsys formally acquires CoWare
• EUROPRACTICE will ensure that university licenses
  are not lost in the shuffle

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• Select tools to complement and enhance existing
  flows
• MEMs from Coventor works with Cadence for
  Integrated MEMs

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All Packages are constantly evolving

• Many sites have Cadence IC
• The package now is unrecognisable from the
  original
• The package now is substantially different from
  two releases ago
• Choice of packages and options reflecting
  different interests

TLM Package
C-to-Silicon Compiler
IC Package
InCyte Chip Estimator
Sip Design
Combined IC and Systems Package
Systems Package
PCB Studio
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Supporting multiple flows
Design Tools
Design Tool 1
Design Tool 2
Tool 3
Tool 4
Design Tool 5
Design Kits
Multi Vendor Design Kit
IC Fabrication
OTHER MPW
EUROPRACTICE MPW
Direct to foundry
FPGA
PCBs, Systems ...
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High Level Design

• Many alternatives now exist for C based design
• Many users are perfecting algorithms or seeking
  high speed algorithm implementations
• C language is more familiar to that community
• Structural information is added either inline or
  using tool

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Device and Process Design

• Semiconductor Technology CAD
• Covers a wide range of applications including
  CMOS, bipolar, hetero, power, memory, image
  sensors, solar cells and analog/RF devices
• Applicable to a wide number or study areas
• Device physicists
• Material scientists

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Embedded Systems and links to software

• Most large scale digital systems now contain a
  processor
• EUROPRACTICE users have access to
• ARM
• PowerPC
• Microblaze
• NIOS
• To make best use of these processors, programming
  and debugging tools are available from
• Mentor Graphics
• ARM
• Some scheme users are purely programmers

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Custom Processor Design

• Using tools in the portfolio, you can
• Design a processor in a language based
  description
• Automatically derive RTL code
• Automatically derive assembler
• Automatically derive C compiler
• Useful for traditional IC design
• Very useful for teaching and researchingComputer
  Architectures

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Economic feasability

• Understand the cost
• Prototype
• Production
• Fixed costs
• Unit Cost
• Uses actual data
• Can be overridden
• E.g. Europractice

TLM Package
C-to-Silicon Compiler
IC Package
InCyte Chip Estimator
Sip Design
Combined IC and Systems Package
Systems Package
PCB Studio
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Europractice Design Tool Portfolio

• Photonics layout verification
• PCB design
• Package analysis
• Thermal analysis
• DFM and yield optimisation
• Interconnect analysis
• SiP
• Sensors - image, pressure, fluidic,
• RF design
• Design for testability
• Design verification
• Synchronous / asynchronous
• Application specific processors
• Hardware software co-design
• Embedded processors
• Design reuse IP blocks
• Mixed-signal design
• Digital synthesis from HDL
• Transistors

• European Universities and Research Institutes
  have diverse training and research needs
• This needs to be reflected in the breadth of the
  design tool portfolio
• Choice of Vendors for each functionality offered
  where possible
• Tools are not restricted to EUROPRACTICE
  processes or geometries

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Evolution of MEMs in EUROPRACTICE

• EUROPRACTICE has had a well established MEMs
  design tool offering since 1995
• The MEMs industry was also evolving
• The goal was to facilitate Fabless MEMs design
  in universities
• Further Stimulation wasneeded.

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STIMESI

• STIMESI was an EC sponsored project that ran from
  2006-2009
• Aimed to stimulate the adoption of MEMs
  technology
• Short courses offered across Europe on a variety
  of MEMs processes
• STIMESI 2 begins September 2010

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Extending EUROPRACTICE MPW to MEMs

• Following the successful example of IC MPW,
  EUROPRACTICE now offers a MEMs MPW service
• MEMSCAP
• PolyMUMPs
• MetalMUMPs
• SOIMUMPs
• TRONICS
• MEMSOI
• 13 MEMs runs are scheduled for 2010
• Well placed to introduce Integrated MEMs

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Examples of MEMs Designs
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Photonics

• Integrated circuit photonics is an important
  growth area for the European communications
  sector
• EUROPRACTICE has photonics software for
• P-Cell Layout
• DRC
• Simulation
• What about manufacture?

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EUROPRACTICE Collaborations

• ePIXfab is a well established EC project
• MPW service for large-scale photonic ICs
• Discounted access for EU
• Framework 7 PhotonFAB project.
• EUROPRACTICE is cooperating with ePIXfab
• Photonics tools are being enhanced
• EUROPRACTICE will provide the interface to
  Photonics MPW for European academics
• Further example of the close coupling of
  EUROPRACTICE with other EC training and service
  projects

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Future Trends
EUROCHIP
Future EUROPRACTICE
EUROPRACTICE
IC - integration
3µ
TSV
Scaling MoreMoore
Integrated MEMS
Initially for universities
Extension to Companies Extension to small volumes
Photonics
65nm
1989 1995
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Industrial Impact

• Microelectronics is very important to the
  European economy
• Universities are vital in the supply of
• Highly Skilled graduates for the future needs of
  industry
• University research output
• EUROPRACTICE supports universities by providing
• Access to latest design methodologies and flows
• Access to processes from the worlds leading
  foundries
• Closely coupled training actions
• The same versions and technologies currently used
  by industry
• Only available to the leading multinational
  companies
• Europe has an internationally recognised world
  leading infrastructure for microelectronics
  education

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Celebration 20 years MPW Service in Europe

• Celebrating 20 years of microelectronics
  educational support to European universities
  Eurochip Europractice
• 17 September 2009
• Key speakers

Eurochip /Europractice Lowering the barriers
! Prof. G. Metakides (Patras)
More than ever, EUROPRACTICE plays a central role
for keeping education at its highest level in IC
Design Prof. M. Declercq (EPFL)
An Invaluable Service to Educational, Research
and SME communities creating affordable access
to the electronic technology behind today's ICT
revolution ... A Foundation for Europes Economic
Future Sir Robin Saxby (ex-CEO ARM)
Europractice is an outstanding valuable
instrument to keep up and to enhance Austrias
position in the microelectronic community Prof.
R. Hagelauer (Linz)
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The Community

• More than 650 members
• Universities
• Research Institutes
• Common Design Tools
• Common Processes
• A common infrastructure forcooperation
• Between universities
• With industry