Custom ic hardware modeling using standard ics for use in ic design validation

Abstract

Testing and validation of custom IC designs is performed using standard ICs. Highly complex integrated circuits, instead of being designed at the gates and flops level, are typically designed using standardized cell libraries that allow for widespread, systematic design reuse. Such libraries may include Functional System Blocks, or FSBs (sometimes referred to as ASIC cores), and Application Specific Standard Parts (ASSPs). ASSPs are designs that are or were once realized as stand-alone parts, but that may also be embedded into larger designs (“embedded ASSPs”). Instead of a conventional software model, testing and validation is performed using a hardware model of a custom integrated circuit. The hardware model may be a breadboard system that is decomposed into three levels of functionality: ASSPs, FSBs and “glue logic”ASSPs are typically 500K gates or more and may be realized as separate ICs. FSBs are typically 50K gates or less. A collection of commonly used FSBs are therefore provided on a single integrated circuit (FSBIC) in such a way that by applying a predetermined control signal to the FSBIC, it will behave as a selected one of the FSBs. The hardware model may use as many FSBICs as required to map to the FSBs in the custom IC design. Logic on the custom IC that is not part of an ASSP or an FSB may be regarded as glue logic. A hardware emulator (e.g., a programmable logic IC) may be used to model the glue logic.