Transistor Counts

1,000,000

100,000

10,000

1,000

10

100

11975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

8086

80286i386

i486Pentium®

Pentium® Pro

K1 Billion 1 Billion

TransistorsTransistors

Source: IntelSource: Intel

ProjectedProjected

Pentium® IIPentium® III

Courtesy, Intel

Design Abstraction Levels

n+n+S

GD

+

DEVICE

CIRCUIT

GATE

MODULE

SYSTEM

Not Only Microprocessors

Digital Cellular Market(Phones Shipped)

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Units 48M 86M 162M 260M 435M Analog Baseband

Digital Baseband

(DSP + MCU)

PowerManagement

Small Signal RF

PowerRF

(data from Texas Instruments)(data from Texas Instruments)

CellPhone

Frequency

P6Pentium ® proc

486386

28680868085

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

Die Size Growth

40048008

80808085

8086286

386486 Pentium ® proc

P6

1

10

100

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010Year

Die

siz

e (m

m)

~7% growth per year~2X growth in 10 years

Die size grows by 14% to satisfy Moore’s LawDie size grows by 14% to satisfy Moore’s Law

Courtesy, Intel

Power DissipationP6

Pentium ® proc

486

3862868086

80858080

80084004

0.1

1

10

100

1971 1974 1978 1985 1992 2000Year

Po

wer

(W

atts

)

Lead Microprocessors power continues to increaseLead Microprocessors power continues to increase

Courtesy, Intel

Power will be a major problem5KW

18KW

1.5KW 500W

40048008

80808085

8086286

386486

Pentium® proc

0.1

1

10

100

1000

10000

100000

1971 1974 1978 1985 1992 2000 2004 2008Year

Po

wer

(W

atts

)

Power delivery and dissipation will be prohibitivePower delivery and dissipation will be prohibitive

Courtesy, Intel

Power density

400480088080

8085

8086

286386

486Pentium® proc

P6

1

10

100

1000

10000

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010Year

Po

wer

Den

sity

(W

/cm

2)

Hot Plate

NuclearReactor

RocketNozzle

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

Courtesy, Intel

9

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• etc.

…and There’s a Lot of Them!

DSM 1/DSM

?

Productivity Trends

1

10

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

1,000,000

10,000,000

200

3

198

1

198

3

198

5

198

7

198

9

199

1

199

3

199

5

199

7

199

9

200

1

200

5

200

7

200

9

10

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

1,000,000

10,000,000

100,000,000

Logic Tr./ChipTr./Staff Month.

xxx

xxx

x

21%/Yr. compoundProductivity growth rate

x

58%/Yr. compoundedComplexity growth rate

10,000

1,000

100

10

1

0.1

0.01

0.001

Lo

gic

Tra

nsi

sto

r p

er C

hip

(M)

0.01

0.1

1

10

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

Pro

du

ctiv

ity

(K)

Tra

ns.

/Sta

ff -

Mo

.

Source: Sematech

Complexity outpaces design productivity

Co

mp

lexi

ty

Courtesy, ITRS Roadmap

Advanced Metallization

Die Cost

Single die

Wafer

From http://www.amd.com

Going up to 12” (30cm)

Yield%100

per wafer chips ofnumber Total

per wafer chips good of No.Y

yield Dieper wafer Dies

costWafer cost Die

area die2

diameterwafer

area die

diameter/2wafer per wafer Dies

2

Defects

area dieareaunit per defects

1yield die

is approximately 3

4area) (die cost die f

Summary• Digital integrated circuits have come a long way

and still have quite some potential left for the coming decades

• Some interesting challenges ahead– Getting a clear perspective on the challenges and

potential solutions is the purpose of this book

• Understanding the design metrics that govern digital design is crucial– Cost, reliability, speed, power and energy dissipation