A New Approach to SoC Design with Silicon Lifecycle Management 

Steve Pateras

Oct 11, 2020 / 4 min read

The process of optimizing a chip for critical issues such as performance, reliability and security has traditionally been viewed mainly as a design issue. Extensive investments have been made in electronic design automation (EDA) and IP technologies to ensure that a chip works correctly and reliably before it is passed to manufacturing. These issues don’t simply end once that hand-off is made, or even after the chip has been successfully fabricated. We need a new approach to be able to monitor and optimize the chip long after it has left the design labs and been deployed in the field in its intended system.

Introducing the industry’s first Silicon Lifecycle Management (SLM) platform, a new holistic concept that Synopsys is offering that closes the silicon loop to optimize all phases of the silicon lifecycle. Such an approach is only possible thanks to Synopsys’ industry-leading IP, implementation, verification and test solutions. The Synopsys SLM platform enables new levels of insights for both SoC teams and their customers to optimize operational activities at each stage of the device and system lifecycles. This analytics-driven platform extends traditional chip design capabilities by using embedded sensing and monitoring techniques to collect extensive silicon device data that provides visibility into critical issues for the entirety of a chip’s lifespan.

Silicon Lifecycle Timeline Chart | Synopsys

Why is SLM Necessary?

In industries where silicon performance and reliability are critical — such as high-performance computing, data centers, autonomous vehicles, transportation and industrial IoT — quality, security and reliability are growing concerns that cost companies billions of dollars to monitor and address. Much of the challenge is directly related to the complexity of today’s electronics systems driven by advanced manufacturing processes and massive integration. This, coupled with a rapidly decreasing tolerance for system failures or service interruptions, has driven us to look at a new approach based on our proven strength in design and test. Our approach extends beyond those initial stages of a chip’s lifecycle to address how silicon-based systems are developed and maintained. With the SLM platform, our focus is on the delivery of a solution to better manage each phase of a chip and system’s lifecycle from development through end-user deployment to ensure optimized results and lower risk throughout the process.

“Addressing critical chip performance and reliability issues is a multi-billion-dollar issue that doesn’t stop at tape out. It requires a new way of looking at the entirety of how an IC is designed, built and used. Providing access to device data throughout the entire chip life span, and enabling ongoing ‘in life’ feedback and optimization through specialized analytics will allow a more efficient and effective way to address the semiconductor-related quality and security challenges system companies face in all industries,” noted Richard Wawrzyniak, principal market analyst, ASIC & SoC, Semico Research Corp.

How SLM Works: Collect and Analyze

The SLM platform delivers two key capabilities that enable the ongoing lifecycle management of devices: data collection and detailed analytics.

Chip Design System Timeline | Synopsys

First, non-intrusive monitors and sensors that are embedded throughout each chip gather as much useful data about each chip as possible. This provides visibility into all forms of circuit activity as well as environmental conditions like voltage and temperature.

Automated integration of the monitors and sensors into the RTL or gate-level design is provided through the Synopsys TestMAX™ test integration solution which when coupled with the Fusion Compiler™ RTL-to-GDSII solution for synthesis and physical implementation, ensures the monitors are integrated while maintaining optimal power, performance, and area (PPA) design metrics. The SLM platform links TestMAX™ to Synopsys’ signoff analysis tools for guidance on where to optimally place the monitors and sensors.

Second, analytics on the chip data obtained from the monitors and sensors enable optimizations at each stage of the semiconductor lifecycle, starting with design implementation, and progressing through manufacturing, production, test, bring-up and culminating with in-field operation. The SLM platform includes several targeted analytics engines. PrimeShield closes the loop on design implementation by leveraging both silicon data-based timing model calibration to minimize required margins as well as advanced analytics to further optimize design PPA, reliability and silicon predictability. The SiliconDash™ semiconductor manufacturing analytics engine and the Yield Explorer™ design yield analysis engine use fab and test data enhanced with monitor and sensor data to optimize manufacturing and test operational efficiencies as well as improve overall yield. The platform also features two additional analytics engines, an Adaptive Learning Engine and an Embedded Learning Engine, that enable optimized test bring-up and introduce self-analysis and predictive maintenance capabilities during the in-field operation of the chip.

Silicon Lifecycle Management Platform Diagram | Synopsys

Benefits Throughout the Lifecycle

The SLM platform breaks new ground in how devices can be monitored from design to deployment. The ongoing monitoring and optimization of performance and reliability is a lifelong process for today’s ICs. Synopsys’ SLM platform closes the silicon loop through the analysis of on-chip monitor and sensor data to optimize all phases of the silicon lifecycle in what signifies a new way forward in chip design and ongoing maintenance.

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