Date: 26/08/2011

200 times faster simulations, 15% increase in performance using Model-Based Design for SoCs

MathWorks has announced that Faraday Technology Corporation, used Model-Based Design to accelerate the development of complex semiconductor SoCs, including development of its NAND Flash Controller error correcting code (ECC) engine. MathWorks claims its MATLAB and Simulink products have helped Faraday accelerate development of more efficient designs by completing system-level simulations 200 times faster, increasing throughput performance by 15%, and cutting gate count by up to 57%.

"Model-Based Design provided an efficient and cost-effective way to improve silicon intellectual property development by enabling us to rapidly identify the best design configurations and get products to market faster," said Ken Chen, ESL Methodology Manager at Faraday. "The Simulink environment is ideal for integrating, simulating, and exploring design architectures. The simulations are up to 200 times faster than RTL simulations, and Simulink models can be easily converted to HDL code for FPGA prototyping."

According to MathWorks, Faraday engineers used MATLAB, Simulink, and Stateflow to model and simulate their system-level designs, and used Simulink Coder and Simulink HDL Coder to automatically generate code from their models, this workflow enabled to shorten their design process as they moved from architecture design to hardware and software implementation. Faraday has used Model-Based Design for DDR and flash controller projects and delivered the SIP designs on schedule. The engineering team is now focused on further accelerating development by reusing and adapting their existing models on new projects.

"As integrated circuit manufacturers continue to rely on SIP providers for SoC and ASIC components, SIP engineers need the ability to rapidly deliver designs that meet their customers' requirements," said Ken Karnofsky, senior strategist for signal processing applications, MathWorks. "Faraday's use of MATLAB and Simulink showcases the effective use of Model-Based Design to accelerate development, reduce costs, and simplify the integration of SIP modules into SoC designs."