From Asics to Socs: A Practical Approach

Semiconductors (chips) are the guts of all electronic systems and products from PDAs to supercomputers. An ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) is a chip designed for a special application, such as a particular kind of transmission protocol (CDMA) or a hand-held computer. SOCs (System on a Chip) are the latest advancement in chip design and take ASICs one step further. SOCs place nearly all hardware components (memory, input/output, processor core, etc.) on a single chip. ASICs (and now SOCs) are in everything from airplanes to toasters and the demand for skilled chip designers has increased. IBM remains one of the world's largest chip manufacturers and semiconductors are the second largest growth market in technology, only telecommunications is bigger. This book takes chip designers and engineers through the design process and points out what's hot today, what will be hot tomorrow, and how to design in a step-by-step format. Described in the book are the practical aspects of ASIC and SOC design. It covers the on-the-job issues that designers face. This book will emphasize the principles and techniques involved in ASIC/SOC design instead of the specific tools used. It lays out the fundamental techniques for design and verification through case studies and step-by-step coverage that reflects the current issues challenging designers.