Digital integrated circuits rEvolution

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Digital integrated circuits rEvolution

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Introduction

Digital Integrated Circuit Design: The past, the present and the future

» What made Digital IC design what it is today» Why is designing digital Ics different today than

it was before?» Will it change in the future?

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

The First Computer

The BabbageDifference Engine(1832)

25,000 partscost: £17,470

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

ENIAC - The first electronic computer (1946)

Balistic calculator (Used during 2° World War)

18000 valves1500 relais30 tons200 KW

$ 486.804,22 (1946)

During 10 years of opeating life 19000 valves had to be replaced

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

The transistor revolution

First transistor

Shockley, Brattain,Bardeen

Bell Labs, 1948

Same Functionality of vacuum tubes but less power and compact, reliable and fast.

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

The first Integrted Circuit

Improvement on technology process :

» Planar Transistors (BJT)

Phase shift oscillator – Jack Kilby (1958)

Integration of many transistors on the same semiconductor substrate

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

The first integrated circuit

ECL 3-input GateTechnology: bipolarMotorola 1966

Noyce –Fairchil Co-Founder

Idea: Planar transistor Process in a single shot

several transistor Manufactoring steps

Doping Oxidation Lithografy Etching Deposition EtcBeginning of the IC REVOLUTION!!!

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Transistor – Transistor Logic

TTL is a class of digital circuits built from bipolar junction transistors (BJT) and resistors.

Became very popular after 1963 (Texas) 7400 and 5400 series

Main issue:» Speed» Power

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

MOS transistor

Patented : 1935 (IGFET)...Reinvented in late ‘60.First working device : ‘70

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Microprocessors

Intel 4004 (1971)2300 transistors3x4mm10um process PMOS<1 MHz operation

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Microprocessors

Intel 4004 (1971)2300 transistors3x4mm10um process PMOS<1 MHz operation

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Intel Core 2 Microprocessor

Intel Core 2 (2006), 291M transistors,65CMOS, 143mm²3GHz

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Transistor Counts

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Intel SRAM Prototype Chip (2009)

22nm 364MB SRAM > 2.9B transistor 3rd generation High-K + Metal Gate

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Moore’s Law In 1965, Gordon Moore noted that the number of transistors on a chip doubled

every 18 to 24 months He made a prediction that semiconductor technology will double its

effectiveness every 18 months

161514131211109876543210

195

91

960

196

11

962

196

31

964

196

51

966

196

71

968

196

91

970

197

11

972

197

31

974

197

5

LO

G 2 O

F T

HE

NU

MB

ER

OF

CO

MP

ON

EN

TS

PE

R I

NT

EG

RA

TE

D F

UN

CT

ION

Electronics, April 19, 1965.

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Cost per Transistor

0.0000001

0.000001

0.00001

0.0001

0.001

0.01

0.11

1982 1985 1988 1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012

cost: ¢-per-transistor

Fabrication capital cost per transistor (Moore’s law)

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Scaling

Transistor count is the most common measure of integrated circuit complexity.

» Intel's 10-core XeonWestmere-EX 2.5 Billion» Xilinx currently holds the "world-record" for

an FPGA containing 6.8 Billion transistors.

More integration due transistor scaling:» More compact devices» faster» Less power hungry

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

65nm CMOS Technology

8 Metal Layers for local/global interconnects

PMOS (gate 65nm)

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Evolution in Complexity

memories

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Frequency

P6

Pentium ® proc486

38628680868085

8080

80084004

0.1

1

10

100

1000

10000

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010Year

Fre

qu

ency

(M

hz)

Lead Microprocessors frequency doubles every 2 yearsLead Microprocessors frequency doubles every 2 years

Doubles every2 years

Courtesy, Intel

Now it’s over!

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Power Dissipation Prediction (2000)

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Power density

40048008

80808085

8086

286386

486Pentium® proc

P6

1

10

100

1000

10000

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010Year

Po

wer

Den

sity

(W

/cm

2)

Hot Plate

Nuclear

Reactor

Rocket

Nozzle

Power density too high to keep junctions at low tempPower density too high to keep junctions at low temp

Courtesy, Intel

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Not enough cooling

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Why Scaling?

Technology shrinks by 0.7/generation With every generation can integrate 2x more functions per chip; chip cost

does not increase significantly Cost of a function decreases by 2x But …

» How to design chips with more and more functions?» Design engineering population does not double every two years…

Hence, a need for more efficient design methods» Exploit different levels of abstraction

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Design Abstraction Levels

n+n+S

GD

+

DEVICE

CIRCUIT

GATE

MODULE

SYSTEM

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

26

Not Only Microprocessors (cell phone…)

Analog Baseband

Digital Baseband

(DSP + MCU)

PowerManagemen

t

Small Signal RF

PowerRF

Elettronica T A.A. 2015-2016 Introduction

Challenges in Digital Design

“Microscopic Problems”• Ultra-high speed design Interconnect• Noise, Crosstalk• Reliability, Manufacturability• Power Dissipation• Clock distribution.

Everything Looks a Little Different

“Macroscopic Issues”• Time-to-Market• Millions of Gates• High-Level Abstractions• Reuse & IP: Portability• Predictability• Verification

…and There’s a Lot of Them!

?