Trends in Analog IP for ASIC Design

Hi, I'm a business student with a professional background in EE and investigate opportunities for Analog IP with a student team. Would be very happy to hear your experience and opinion about a few questions:

1. If you happen to use 3rd party Analog IP:
   • For what kind of functions or blocks (LDO, PLL, Bluetooth Interface…) do you use external IP?
   • What are the reasons for using external IP?
2. If you don’t use external IP, why not?
   
3. Are there applications you would like to have IP but can’t find it / the right one?
   
4. What do you see as the major challenges for using analog IP?

JElectric said:

Hi, I'm a business student with a professional background in EE and investigate opportunities for Analog IP with a student team. Would be very happy to hear your experience and opinion about a few questions:

1. If you happen to use 3rd party Analog IP:
   • For what kind of functions or blocks (LDO, PLL, Bluetooth Interface…) do you use external IP?
   • What are the reasons for using external IP?
2. If you don’t use external IP, why not?
   
3. Are there applications you would like to have IP but can’t find it / the right one?
   
4. What do you see as the major challenges for using analog IP?

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You cannot expect us to reveal this information. This is extremely confidential.
Good luck finding anyone who would reveal this information without breaking some form of NDA.

vivekroy said:

You cannot expect us to reveal this information. This is extremely confidential.
Good luck finding anyone who would reveal this information without breaking some form of NDA.

Click to expand...

Hi vivekroy, thank you for your reply. Of course, I don't want you to reveal confidential information but I would have thought at least some of the questions could be answered without that.

For example, there is losts of IP available, is it confidential what types of blocks are often purchased?

Then I think the reason behind purchasing IP will always be combination of risk, time, capabilities and cost. It would be interesting to know to me, which one is normally the driving factor.


Of course, if this is something you are not comfortable answering, that is ok. Maybe you can let me know your IP "wishlist" though (without details): What IP would you like to have but can't get?

Generally, it depends on the situation whether you use IP or not. The factors are your company size, available manpower, cost, time to market and so on.

For example, your company would like to make a new IC chip. There is an idea, block design. You calculate the cost and time to market with your available manpower. One of the blocks needed in your chip is PLL. Your company has never designed any PLL or designed but not with such parameters (more hard to achieve) as required in your chip. Hence, you do calculation what would be the time-cost to design it by yourself and do a research on the market (contact with PLL IP providers). It may happen that it is less risky or even cheaper to use IP.

Really, it depends a lot on many factors whether IPs are used. Generally, they are used a lot as you get silicon proved IP almost immediately from such companies as Synopsys, Cadence and so on. Moreover, a lot of design companies which specialize in particular areas (e.g. power management, NFC, PLL, ADCs) are used by other companies to help them during projects in terms of design services (not IP but design services).

There are plenty of consulting companies that have reports on this information.

Why dont you seek out those reports ?

These are business and corporate level decisions and people not high in these areas wont not know the business or corporate strategies being carried out.

Hi, yes there are market reports out there but they are very high level. They show what's going on in relatively broad market segments (like analog, digital, memory,... or Automotive, IoT,...) but not what's really going on on the implementation side.

So I'd be interested to tap into your first-hand experience (without comprimising confidentiality) what kind of IP is often used and where do you see gaps in the IP offered and challenges with the integration?

JElectric said:

Hi, yes there are market reports out there but they are very high level. They show what's going on in relatively broad market segments (like analog, digital, memory,... or Automotive, IoT,...) but not what's really going on on the implementation side.

So I'd be interested to tap into your first-hand experience (without comprimising confidentiality) what kind of IP is often used and where do you see gaps in the IP offered and challenges with the integration?

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All IPs are used. Otherwise, companies would not sell them. Try looking for companies that offer IPs to see what is the market. USB, MIPI, HDMI ... so on, so on.

It is not clear what kind of information you are seeking and what level of granularity in the information you are looking for : what blocks, what architectures, what process technology ?

Your question is very open ended. Are you looking for market analysis : that is what consultants are for. Companies pick IP for so many reasons it would be impossible to understand them all. It would be better for you to approach an IP company - and say you require this information informally. There are so many IP companies all over the world, just reach out to the head of IP at a firm and ask for an informal interview with them.

You will get answers much faster. They will answer your questions as long as it is not confidential and you get the information you need. Call a few. This is best answered in person using a phone call.