Mixed Design

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Mixed Signal ASIC Design

Integre engineers have the necessary experience designing mixed signal integrated systems to select, setup and utilize the most efficient mixed signal simulation environment and design flow that will yield successful results. More and more systems on a chip include substantial analog and RF circuitry. A good example is a complete wireless transceiver. In some cases it makes sense to integrate the RF front end and digital baseband processing on a single chip. Many factors enter into that decision process including electrical requirements, process capability, piece part volumes/cost, design time, and risks. Integre can assist in the evaluation of these factors and in developing a system partitioning and approach that best meets the customer’s strategic goals and requirements.

Mixed signal design can encompass a number of unique challenges requiring a combination of digital and analog design techniques. A particular cell such as an ADC, DAC, Sigma-Delta modulator or PLL may combine analog and digital circuitry to form a functional block. If the amount of digital content is small the design may be treated as a pure analog design (with analog simulation of digital cells) provided simulation times do not become excessive.

Another approach is to co-simulate where both continuous time and behavioral simulators are invoked to simulate the respective analog and digital sub-cells. Co-simulation would also be necessary for a larger system where feedback loops and dynamic interactions cross analog-digital cell boundaries.

Another mixed signal example is the integration of a transceiver RF front end with digital baseband processing. In this case if the interface is a simple bit stream between the transmitter/receiver and the baseband processor, then a data file captured at the receiver output could be used as input to the digital baseband processor simulation. For the transmit case, the digital baseband simulation output date file would used as input for the transmitter analog simulator.

Portions of any mixed signal design flow are identical to the traditional digital or analog flow, however mixed signal designs require additional consideration. Integre engineers can provide assistance in making your mixed signal job a success with our experience in the following areas:

• Mixed Signal Project Partitioning and Feasibility Trade-offs
• Design Flow and Tool Planning
• System Architecture Design
• Chip Level Specifications
• IC Foundry Selection

Tools:

Integre Technologies is an independent design services company and therefore has the freedom to use the best tools for the job. In addition to the tools used for digital ASIC design and analog/RF ASIC design flows, some tools specific to a mixed signal co-simulation environment are:

• Cadence AMS Designer
• Cadence Verilog XL/NC, NC-VHDL
• Cadence Spectre• Mentor ADVance AMS
• Mentor VHDL, VHDL-AMS, Verilog, Verilog-AMS
• Mentor Eldo RF

Experience:

Some projects requiring mixed signal design techniques which Integre engineers have experience in include:

• Automotive Sensor Interface (EGO, MAF, CCS, etc)
• RF Transceiver/Digital Baseband Processor
• Phase Locked Loops
• Data Converters (ADC, DAC)

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