Many integrated circuit manufacturers rely on silicon intellectual property (SIP) providers for system-on-a-chip (SoC) and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design. For SIP designers, memory controllers represent an opportunity and a challenge: an opportunity because every microprocessor subsystem needs a memory controller; a challenge because memory controllers are complex designs that need continual enhancements to support a wide array of memory devices. SIP providers like Faraday Technology Corporation gain a competitive advantage if they reduce the gate count of their designs and shorten the development cycle for memory controllers and other modules, which ultimately lowers costs for their customers.
Faraday adopted MathWorks tools for Model-Based Design to accelerate SIP development, explore system-level design alternatives, and improve communication among engineers.
“Simulink is an excellent environment for integrating, simulating, and exploring design architectures,” says Ken Chen, ESL Methodology Manager at Faraday. “With Simulink we can perform cycle-based simulations up to 200 times faster than RTL simulations, which enables us to rapidly identify the best design configurations and get products to market faster.”