China Reiterates Plans to Boost Clean Energy
China, the world’s biggest investor in renewable energy, reiterated plans to boost construction of solar and wind power plants along with projects to transmit electricity from the clean sources.
UPDATE: UK Announces Renewable Heat Tariffs
UPDATE: The U.K. government yesterday launched its Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (d-RHI), which pays households that generate heat and hot water using renewable energy systems such as solar hot water, geothermal heat pumps and biomass heating.
US Driving Research on Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) were the belles of the ball at recent auto shows in Los Angeles and Tokyo, and researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) continue to play a key part in improving performance and durability while driving down costs.
The Pros' Clean Energy Picks: Solar Dominates, Emerging Markets Drag
In December, I asked my panel of professional green money managers for their top three stock picks for 2014. You can find the full list and descriptions of the companies here.
Germany’s $2.8 Billion Power Link With Norway Threatened
Talks between Germany and Norway about how to boost the trading of electricity from renewable sources are being held up by concerns that the power cable running under the North Sea won’t ever make money.
The Wrong Answer to Tax Reform
For many years, and particularly since the Energy Policy Act of 2005, U.S. federal income tax policy has served a dual function as both tax and renewable energy policy. However, last month House Ways and Means Chairman David Camp (R-MI) released an expansive tax reform proposal in which a number of credits and deductions for renewable energy technology were recommended for repeal, effectively rewriting renewable energy policy by a proposed elimination of renewable energy from the federal tax code.
How Do We Really Protect the Grid from the Bad Guys?
From David and Goliath to Luke Skywalker and the Death Star, the human race has been reminded again and again that big things have their vulnerable points. The U.S. power grid, sometimes called the world’s largest machine, is no exception.
Is Sustainability Talk a Distraction from What Really Matters?
Most talk of "energy efficiency" and “sustainability” is insidious or naïve, or even misdirected. We all should switch off the lights when we leave a room, use efficient, gas-fired tankless water heaters (even when they are uneconomical), and work in LEED certified buildings. Intelligent thermostats — Nest, for instance — may regulate our air-conditioning to assure comfort while generating savings, and shaving “peak” load on the electricity grid. Using LED lamps and star rated appliances is admirable too. These solutions and behaviors, while praiseworthy, are beside the point; we should rather favor “supply action” before demand response.
Was Your Senator #Up4Climate or In Bed with the Oil Industry?
Though likely impossible to find anyone in the climate justice or environmental community to say that any sitting U.S. senator — Republican or Democrat — has been an adequate leader on the issue of global warming, 28 Democrats (and two Independents) were garnering soft applause for their overnight effort on Monday into Tuesday as they pulled an all night session focused exclusively on climate change.
Up All Night: US Senate To Address Climate Change Options
More than two dozen legislators are pulling an all-nighter tonight (Monday March 10) on the Senate floor to talk about climate change and what actions must be taken.
Transmission Tweak Promises Big Cost Benefits for Offshore Wind
Offshore wind development is being pushed further out into deeper waters, emphasizing longer, higher-capacity transmission systems. Most newer offshore wind farms from Europe to the U.S. are looking at hundreds of kilometers of transmission lines:Â the U.K. Crown Estate's Round 3 allocations, interconnection systems from Germany's North Sea to the U.K.'s National Grid Western Link, and the proposed Atlantic Wind Connector in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic.
Battery Storage May Vie with US Oil Boom as Energy Game Changer, Says Moniz
The rapid development of rooftop solar and battery storage technology could be as transformative to the economy and modern life as the U.S. oil and gas boom, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said.
Smart Grid Evolution: A New Generation of Intelligent Electronic Devices
The idea of a “smart grid” has taken center stage — an evolution of advanced technologies that make the availability of a smarter, more efficient electrical power grid possible. These technologies aim to address the complex challenges facing grid systems today, which stem largely from its aging infrastructure and a use case model that has evolved over the years. With power systems over a century old, the field instrumentation on the grid is quickly reaching its life cycle limit, which adversely affects overall grid reliability and efficiency.
Readers Respond Day 6: Can We Reach 100 Percent Renewable Energy?
Several countries have announced ambitious goals to be powered completely by renewable energy, while other nations set smaller, incremental goals. These high aspirations have sparked quite a debate amongst industry experts, and we here at Renewable Energy World are curious to hear what you, our readers, have to say.
Infrared: A New Renewable Energy Source?
When the sun sets on a remote desert outpost and solar panels shut down, what energy source will provide power through the night? A battery, perhaps, or an old diesel generator? Perhaps something strange and new.
US Solar Celebrates Records in 2013, Big Trends Coming in 2014
Solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in the U.S. topped 4.78 GW in 2013, an increase of 41 percent over 2012, according to the annual market review and outlook published today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and GTM Research. The industry won't quite maintain that torrid pace in 2014, but watch for progress on a number of important fronts, from long-anticipated investment innovation to a rebound in the midsize project sector to addressing changes to federal investment tax credits.
Musk’s Planned $5 Billion Tesla Battery Gigafactory May Unleash Bidding War
Tesla Motors Inc.’s plan to build what co-founder Elon Musk bills as the world’s largest battery factory could shake up the power industry and trigger a bidding contest between states eager for the 6,500 jobs the $5 billion investment could create.
Power REIT's Preferred Stock Offering: A Hedge That Pays 7.75%
Several smart money managers I know are excited by the heads-I-win, tails-I-win big opportunity offered by Power REIT’s (NYSE:PW) attempt to foreclose on its railroad lease with Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) and Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway (WLE). I know this because I’m one of them, and I’ve talked to others about it. Others aren’t quite so sure.
US Working Towards Energy Independence but Big Challenges Remain, Says Salazar
The United States is in a good place in terms of energy, explained former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar during a keynote session at the MIT Energy Conference in Cambridge, Mass. Oil imports are the lowest since 1991 at 40 percent, carbon emissions are slowly dwindling, Salazar said, and the U.S. is making these positive improvements due to four cornerstones of progress.
Asia Report: US-Taiwan Solar Trade Dispute Forges On
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted — unanimously — to move ahead in its investigation of Taiwanese imports of solar PV products, continuing the latest storyline in the broad U.S.-vs.-China solar trade war.
EU Leaders Said to Delay Decision on 2030 Targets for Emissions
European Union leaders intend next month to agree on a timeline for developing energy and climate targets for 2030, delaying a final decision on the polices, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
US State of the Union 2014: A Back Seat for Renewable Energy
Broader domestic social issues and an international policy that moves away from "a permanent war footing" took center stage in President Obama's State of the Union address (SOTUS) last night. Domestic energy policies, including renewable energy, largely took a back seat to the President's bigger talking points: hiking the minimum wage for federal contractors, urging final immigration reforms, strong pushes in employment and job-training, education, retirement savings, and healthcare.
Asia Report: India's Vastly Oversubscribed Solar Allocations
Last week India finally held its national solar auction, the first in two years, seen as the least risky of several national and state-level solar auctions held over the past few years.
Transmission and Energy Storage 2014 Outlook: The Macro and Micro Transformation of Electric Grids
The transmission industry enters 2014 with a lot of work ahead as it continues to recreate the grid and make it more renewable energy-ready.
Sweet Science: Researcher Develops Energy-dense Sugar Battery
A Virginia Tech research team has developed a battery that runs on sugar and has an unmatched energy density, a development that could replace conventional batteries with ones that are cheaper, refillable, and biodegradable.
Europe Dividing Over Most Ambitious Carbon and Climate Plans
The European Union is poised to take its first formal steps to expand the world’s most ambitious limits on fossil fuel pollution. That may widen a rift in how it balances green policies with the need for cheaper power.
Update: Google On a Cleantech Investment Binge Again
Once again flexing its investment muscles in renewable energy, Google is expanding its future purchasing plans for wind energy in Finland and taking a stake in another a Texas wind farm. Oh, and it also bought some home energy automation startup called Nest Labs.
Cleantech's Investment Cycle: Don't Worry, Think Bigger
Several reports this week agree that cleantech investments fell in 2013, but that's not a bad thing. And the big question is what happens next: how much more is needed?
UK Solar, Wind to Compete Head-to-Head With Solar Under Auction Plans
The U.K. plans to force onshore wind developers to compete head-to-head for the first time with solar generators when they bid for green power subsidies as the nation seeks to reduce the cost of renewable energy for consumers.
It’s Cold and My Car is Buried in Snow; Is Global Warming Really Happening?
For years, climate contrarians have pointed to snowfall and cold weather to question the scientific reality of human-induced climate change.
Mosaic, BigBelly Solar Awarded Grants for "Powerful Answers"
Two firms advancing renewable energy applications are in the spotlight this week at the CES consumer tech show in Las Vegas, one of the tech world's biggest venues, receiving grants from U.S. telecommunications company Verizon to further bring their ideas and strategies to the masses.
Road Map to Clean Energy and Climate Initiatives in New York's 2014 State of the State Report
Curbing global warming emissions and building the clean energy economy are critical to New York State’s future and the health and well-being of all New Yorkers. In this week’s State of the State event, Governor Cuomo announced some significant new clean energy and climate initiatives.
Extrowords #106: Generalissimo 76
Sample clues
9 across: Van Morrison classic from Moondance (7)
6 down: Order beginning with ‘A’ (12)
6 across: Fatal weakness (8,4)
19 across: Rolling Stones classic (12)
4 down: Massacre tool (8)
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Extrowords #105: Generalissimo 75
Sample clues
5 across: Robbie Robertson song about Richard Manuel (6,5)
2 down: F5 on a keyboard (7)
10 across: Lionel Richie hit (5)
3 down: ALTAIR, for example (5)
16 down: The problem with Florida 2000 (5)
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Extrowords #104: Generalissimo 74
Sample clues
6 across: Alejandro González Iñárritu’s breakthrough film (6,6)
19 across: Soft leather shoe (8)
7 down: Randroids, for example (12)
12 down: First American World Chess Champion (7)
17 down: Circle of influence (5)
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Extrowords #103: Generalissimo 74
Sample clues
14 across: FDR’s baby (3,4)
1 down: A glitch in the Matrix? (4,2)
4 down: Slanted character (6)
5 down: New Year’s venue in New York (5,6)
16 down: Atmosphere of melancholy (5)
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Extrowords #102: Generalissimo 73
Sample clues
5 across: The US president’s bird (3,5,3)
11 down: Group once known as the Quarrymen (7)
10 across: Cavalry sword (5)
19 across: Masonic ritual (5,6)
1 down: Pioneer of Ostpolitik (6)
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Extrowords #101: Generalissimo 72
Sample clues
11 across: Chandigarh’s is 0172 (3,4)
21 across: He’s a loser, baby (4)
1 down: Garment meant to shape the torso (6)
12 down: It’s slogan: “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit” (8)
18 down: Noise made by badminton players? (6)
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Extrowords #100: Generalissimo 71
Sample clues
17 across: Beckham speciality (4,4)
4 down: Havana speciality (5)
19 across: Infamous 1988 commercial against Michael Dukakis (9,4)
11 down: Precisely (2,3,3)
13 down: City infamously ransacked by the Japanese in 1937 (7)
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Extrowords #99: Generalissimo 70
Sample clues
5 down: Torso covering (6)
7 down: Government by rogues (12)
15 across: eBay speciality (7)
18 across: Demonic (8)
20 across: Common language (6,6)
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Extrowords #98: Generalissimo 69
Sample clues
6 across: Franchise revived by Frank Miller (6)
13 across: What Keanu Reeves and Zayed Khan have in common (5)
18 across: What Frank Sinatra and George Clooney have in common (6,6)
19 across: Dosa mix, for example (6)
2 down: Green, in a non-environmental way (7)
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Extrowords #97: Generalissimo 68
Sample clues
18 across: Makoto Hagiwara and David Jung both claim to have invented it (7,6)
1 down: French impressionist who rejected that term (5)
3 down: Artificial surface used for playing hockey (9)
7 down: The sequel to Iliad (7)
12 down: Adipose tissue (4,3)
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The Power of Big Iron
Key findings: 5X to 32X faster low-power verification using Palladium XP emulation
It’s hot in July in Korea, and not just the temperature; the ideas, too. The ideas that flowed at CDNLive Korea were exciting, and that includes a very interesting talk by Jiyeon Park from the System LSI division of Samsung Electronics. His talk, titled “Enabling Low-Power Verification using Cadence Palladium XP,” struck a chord with the audience and the highlights bear sharing in this forum. This blog captures some of the highlights from the public talk in Seoul this summer.
Motivation
If you are familiar with the breadth of the product lines at Samsung Electronics, you will appreciate the diversity of the end-market requirements that they must fulfill. These markets and products include:
Mobile/Handheld
- Smartphones
- Tablets
- Laptops
Consumer/Digital Home
- High-definition/ultra-high-definition TV
- Gaming consoles
- Computers
Networking/Data Center
- Servers
- Switches
- Communications
What all of these markets have in common is that energy efficiency is now an integral and leading part of the value equation. For design teams, a good knowledge of power helps the evaluation and use of a host of critical decisions. From design architecture, IP make-versus-buy decisions, and manufacturing process selection, to the use of low-power design techniques, all are critically influenced by power.
Using simulation for low-power verification
Once the decision to overlay power reduction design techniques, such as power shutdown, has been made, new dimensions have been added to the already complex SoC verification task. The RTL verification environment is first augmented with a power intent file; in this case, IEEE 1801 was the format. The inclusion of this power intent information enables the examination of power domain shutdown, isolation operations, proper retention, and level shifting.
Figure 1: Incisive SimVision power verification elements example
Low-power verification using emulation
Simulation for low-power verification works well, so why emulation? One word—complexity! It is easy to forget that “design complexity” (usually measured in gates or transistors) is not that same as “verification complexity” (which is really hard to measure). Consider a design with four power domains, three of which are switchable and one that is switchable but also has high- and low-voltage states. That yields nine basic states, and 24 modes of operation to test. Although some of those modes may not be consequential, when paired with hundreds or even thousands of functional tests, you can begin to understand the impact of overlaying low power on the verification problem. Thus, it becomes very desirable to enlist the raw computational power of emulation.
Power off/on scenario on Palladium XP platform
A typical functional test would be augmented to include the power control signals. For power shutoff verification, for instance, the cycles for asserting isolation begin the sequence, followed by state retention, and then finally a power shutdown of the domain must be asserted to verify operation. The figure below calls out a number of checks that ought to be performed.
Figure 2: Power shutoff sequence and associated checks to make
IEEE 1801 support in Palladium XP platform
The IEEE 1801 support found in the Palladium PX platform includes some noteworthy capabilities, as well as some implications to the user. First is a patented memory randomization provided by the Palladium XP platform. This capability includes randomization of memory during shutdown and power up, control over read value during the power-off state, non-volatile memory state retention, and freezing of data on retention. The user should be aware there is about a 10%-20% capacity overhead associated with IEEE 1801-driven low-power verification.
Figure 3: Palladium low-power verification enables schedule improvement
Palladium low-power verification flow
The great thing about the emulation work flow for IEEE 1801 power verification is that the only change is to include that IEEE 1801 power intent file during the compilation stage!
Considerations for emulation environment bring-up
A Universal Verification Methodology (UVM) approach was taken by the Samsung team. This provides a unique structure to the testbench environment that is very conducive to a metric-driven methodology. Using a testbench acceleration interface, teams can run the testbench on a software simulator and the design on the emulator. In addition, the formalism allows for the case of incomplete designs that do not hinder the verification of the parts that are completed.
Experimental results
The most exciting part of the paper was the results that were obtained. For a minor overhead cost in compile time and capacity, the team was able to improve runtimes of their tests by 5X to 32X. Being able run tests in a fraction of the time, or many more tests in the same time, has always been a benefit for emulation users. Now low-power verification is a proven part of the value provided to Palladium XP platform users.
Figure 4: Samsung low-power verification emulation results
Conclusions
The key conclusions found were:
- No modification was needed for IEEE 1801
- There is a small capacity and compile time overhead
- The emulation and simulation match
- The longer the test, the more the net speed up versus software simulation
- Run times improved from 5X to 32X!
With this flow in place, the teams has begun power-aware testing that includes firmware and software verification to go along with the hardware testing. This expansion enables more capability in optimization of the power architecture. In addition, they are seeing faster silicon bring-up in the context of an applied low-power strategy.
Steve Carlson
Freescale Success Stepping Up to Low-Power Verification - Video
Freescale was a successful Incisive® simulation CPF low-power user when they decided to step up their game. In November 2013, at CDNLive India, they presented a paper explaining how they improved their ability to find power-related bugs using a more sophisticated verification flow. We were able to catch up with Abhinav Nawal just after his presentation to capture this video explaining the key points in his paper.
Abhinav had already established a low-power simulation process using directed tests for a design with power intent captured in CPF. While that is a sound approach, it tends to focus on the states associated with each power control module and at least some of the critical power mode changes. Since the full system can potentially exercise unforeseen combinations of power states, the directed test approach may be insufficient. Abhinav built a more complete low-power verification approach rooted in a low-power verification plan captured in Cadence® Incisive Enterprise Manager. He still used Incisive Enterprise Simulator and the SimVision debugger to execute and debug his design, but he also added Incisive Metric Center to analyze coverage from his low-power tests and connect that data back to the low-power verification plan. As a result, he was able to find many critical system-level corner case issues, which, left undetected, would have been catastrophic for his SoC. In the paper, Abhinav presents some of the key problems this approach was able to find.
You can achieve results similar to Abhinav. Incisive Enterprise Simulator can generate a low-power verification plan from the power format, power-aware assertions, and it can collect power-aware knowledge. To get started, you can use the Incisive Low-Power Simulation Rapid Adoption Kit (RAK) for CPF available on Cadence Online Support.
Just another happy Cadence low-power verification user!
Regards,
Adam "The Jouler" Sherer
ST Microelectronics Success with IEEE 1801 / UPF Incisive Simulation - Video
ST Microelectronics reported their success with IEEE 1801 / UPF low-power simulation using Incisive Enterprise Simulator at CDNLive India in November 2013. We were able to meet with Mohit Jain just after his presentation and recorded this video that explains the key points in his paper.
With eight years of experience and pioneering technology in native low-power simulation, Mohit was able to apply Incisive Enterprise Simulator to a low-power demonstrator in preparation for use with a production set-top box chip. Mohit was impressed with the ease in which he was able to reuse his existing IEEE 1801 / UPF code successfully, including the power format files and the macro models coded in his Liberty files. Mohit also discusses how he used the power-aware Cadence SimVision debugger.
The Cadence low-power verification solution for IEEE 1801 / UPF also incorporates the patent-pending Power Supply Network visualization in the SimVision debugger. You can learn more about that in the Incisive low-power verification Rapid Adoption Kit for IEEE 1801 / UPF here in Cadence Online Support.
Just another happy Cadence low-power verification user!
Regards,
Adam "The Jouler" Sherer
IEEE 1801/UPF Tutorial from Accellera—Watch and Learn
If you weren't able to attend the 2013 DVCon, you missed out on a great IEEE 1801/UPF tutorial delivered by members of the IEEE committee. Accellera had the event recorded and that recording is now posted on the Accellera.org website. Regardless of your work so far with low power design and verification, you need to watch this video.
Power management is becoming ubiquitous in our world. The popular aspect is that reduced power is good for the evironment and that is true. But for those teams that have been building chips around the 40nm node and below, there is another truth. Power management is required simply to get working silicon in many cases. As the industry expands the number of designs with power management and forges deeper into advanced nodes, we steadily identify improvements to the power format descriptions. The most recent set of imporvements to the IEEE 1801 standard are now available in the 2013 version of that standard.
To help bring the standard to life, five representatives from the IEEE joined to deliver a tutorial at DVCon in 2013. Qi Wang (Cadence), Erich Marschner (Mentor), Jeffrey Lee (Synopsys), John Biggs (ARM), and Sushma Honnavarra-Prasad (Broadcom) each contributed to the tutorial. It started with a review of the UPF basics that led to the IEEE 1801 standard delivered by the EDA companies. The IEEE 1801 users then presented tutorial content on how to apply the standard. The session then concluded with a look forward to the IEEE 1801-2013 (UPF 2.1) standard. The standard was released two months after the DVCon tutorial and is available through the Accellera Get program.
So after the bowl games are over and you'vre returned through the woods and back over the river from Grandma's, grab a cup of hot cocoa and learn more about the power standards you may well be using in 2014.
Regards,
Adam "The Jouler" Sherer
Low-Power IEEE 1801 / UPF Simulation Rapid Adoption Kit Now Available
There is no better way other than a self-help training kit -- (rapid adoption kit, or RAK) -- to demonstrate the Incisive Enterprise Simulator's IEEE 1801 / UPF low-power features and its usage. The features include:
- Unique SimVision debugging
- Patent-pending power supply network visualization and debugging
- Tcl extensions for LP debugging
- Support for Liberty file power description
- Standby mode support
- Support for Verilog, VHDL, and mixed language
- Automatic understanding of complex feedthroughs
- Replay of initial blocks
- ‘x' corruption for integers and enumerated types
- Automatic understanding of loop variables
- Automatic support for analog interconnections
Mickey Rodriguez, AVS Staff Solutions Engineer has developed a low power UPF-based RAK, which is now available on Cadence Online Support for you to download.
- This rapid adoption kit illustrates Incisive Enterprise Simulator (IES) support for the IEEE 1801 power intent standard.
Patent-Pending Power Supply Network Browser. (Only available with the LP option to IES)
- In addition to an overview of IES features, SimVision and Tcl debug features, a lab is provided to give the user an opportunity to try these out.
The complete RAK and associated overview presentation can be downloaded from our SoC and Functional Verification RAK page:
|
Overview |
RAK Database |
|
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Introduction to IEEE-1801 Low Power Simulation |
View |
Download (2.3 MB) |
We are covering the following technologies through our RAKs at this moment:
Synthesis, Test and Verification flow
Encounter Digital Implementation (EDI) System and Sign-off Flow
Virtuoso Custom IC and Sign-off Flow
Silicon-Package-Board Design
Verification IP
SOC and IP level Functional Verification
System level verification and validation with Palladium XP
Please visit https://support.cadence.com/raks to download your copy of RAK.
We will continue to provide self-help content on Cadence Online Support, your 24/7 partner for learning more about Cadence tools, technologies, and methodologies as well as getting help in resolving issues related to Cadence software. If you are signed up for e-mail notifications, you're likely to notice new solutions, application notes (technical papers), videos, manuals, etc.
Note: To access the above documents, click a link and use your Cadence credentials to log on to the Cadence Online Support https://support.cadence.com/ website.
Happy Learning!
Sumeet Aggarwal and Adam Sherer
Mixed-signal and Low-power Demo -- Cadence Booth at DAC
DAC is right around the corner! On the demo floor at Cadence® Booth #2214, we will demonstrate how to use the Cadence mixed-signal and low-power solution to design, verify, and implement a microcontroller-based mixed-signal design. The demo design architecture is very similar to practical designs of many applications like power management ICs, automotive controllers, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Cadene tools demonstrated in this design include Virtuoso® Schematic Editor, Virtuoso Analog Design Environment, Virtuoso AMS Designer, Virtuoso Schematic Model Generator, Virtuoso Power Intent Assistant, Incisive® Enterprise Simulator with DMS option, Virtuoso Digital Implementation, Virtuoso Layout Suite, Encounter® RTL Compiler, Encounter Test, and Conformal Low Power. An extended version of this demo will also be shown at the ARM® Connected Community Pavilion Booth #921.
For additional highlights on Cadence mixed-signal and low-power solutions, stop by our booth for:
- The popular book, Mixed-signal Methodology Guide, which will be on sale during DAC week!
- A sneak preview of the eBook version of the Mixed-signal Methodology Guide
- Customer presentations at the Cadence DAC Theater
- 9am, Tuesday, June 4 ARM Low-Power Verification of A15 Hard Macro Using CLP
- 10:30am, Tuesday, June 4 Silicon Labs Power Mode Verification in Mixed-Signal Chip
- 12:00pm, Tuesday, June 4 IBM An Interoperable Flow with Unified OA and QRC Technology Files
- 9am, Wednesday, June 5 Marvell Low-Power Verification Using CLP
- 4pm, Wednesday, June 5 Texas Instruments An Inter-Operable Flow with Unified OA and QRC Technology Files
- Partner presentations at the Cadence DAC Theater
- 10am, Monday, June 3 X-Fab Rapid Adoption of Advanced Cadence Design Flows Using X-FAB's AMS Reference Kit
- 3:30pm, Monday, June 3 TSMC TSMC Custom Reference Flow for 20nm - Cadence Track
- 9:30am,Tuesday, June 4 TowerJazz Substrate Noise Isolation Extraction/Model Using Cadence Analog Flow
- 12:30pm, Wednesday, June 5 GLOBALFOUNDRIES 20nm/14nm Analog/Mixed-signal Flow
- 2:30pm, Wednesday, June 5 ARM Cortex®-M0 and Cortex-M0+: Tiny, Easy, and Energy-efficient Processors for Mixed-signal Applications
- Technology sessions at suites
- 10am, Monday, June 3 Low-power Verification of Mixed-signal Designs
- 2pm, Monday, June 3 Advanced Implementation Techniques for Mixed-signal Designs
- 2pm, Monday, June 3 LP Simulation: Are You Really Done?
- 4pm, Monday, June 3 Power Format Update: Latest on CPF and IEEE 1801
- 11am, Wednesday, June 5 Mixed-signal Verification
- 11am, Wednesday, June 5 LP Simulation: Are You Really Done?
- 4pm, Wednesday, June 5 Successful RTL-to-GDSII Low-Power Design (FULL)
- 5pm, Wednesday, June 5 Custom/AMS Design at Advanced Nodes
We will also have three presentations at the Si2 booth (#1427):
- 10:30am, Monday, June 3 An Interoperable Implementation Solution for Mixed-signal Design
- 11:30am, Tuesday, June 4 Low-power Verification for Mixed-signal Designs Using CPF
- 10:30am, Wednesday, June 5 System-level Low-power Verification Using Palladium
We have a great program at DAC. Click the link for complete Cadence DAC Theater and Technology Sessions. Look forward to seeing you at DAC!
Insider Story of the New IEEE 1801-2013 (UPF 2.1) Standard
The IEEE has announced the publication of the new 1801-2013 standard, also known as UPF 2.1, and immediate availability for free download through the IEEE 1801-2013 Get Program. Even though the standard is new to the whole world, for the people of the IEEE working group this standard is finally done and is in the past now.
There is a Chinese saying "好事多磨" which means "good things take time to happen." I forgot the exact time when I first joined the working group for the new standard -- about two and half years ago -- but I do remember long hours of meetings and many "lively" debates and discussions. Since the "hard time" has passed us, I would like to share some fun facts about the working group and the standard.
- The 1801 working group is the largest entity based ballot group in IEEE-SA history.
- The new standard was initially planned for 2012, but was delayed purely due to the large amount of work required.
- At one point, the group was debating on whether the new standard should be called UPF 2.1 or 3.0. It may sound weird now but we spent quite some time discussing this. Eventually we settled on 2.1 as it was the original plan.
- The 1801-2013 document has 358 pages which is 53% thicker than previous version (the sheer amount of changes in the new standard indicate that this is more than just a normal incremental update of the previous version as suggested by naming it 2.1)
- Around 300 real issues were reported over the previous version and a majority of them were fixed in the new release.
- This is the first release with constructs and semantics coming from Common Power Format (CPF), a sign of convergence of the two industry leading power formats.
- There are about 100 working group meetings in my Outlook calendar since 2011, with meeting times ranging from 2 hours to 8 hours.
- We extensively used Google Drive (which was called Google Docs when the working group started), a great tool for productivity. I cannot imagine how any standard could have been done before Google existed!
Personally, I had an enjoyable journey, especially from having the privilege to work with many industry experts who are all passionate about low power. I do have one more thing to share though. My older daughter went from middle school to high school during the period of the development of the new standard. Since most of the meetings took place in the early morning California time, she had to endure the pain of listening to all these discussions on power domain, power switches, etc. on her way to school.
I asked her if she learned anything. She told me that other than being able to recognize the voices of Erich, John and Joe on the line, she also learned that she would never want to become an electrical or computer engineer! She was so happy that the meetings stopped a couple of months ago. But what I did not tell her is that the meetings will resume after DAC! Well, I am sure this will be a big motivation for her to get her own driving license in the summer.
If you want to get some quick technical insights into the new standard, check out my recent EE Times article IEEE 1801-2013: A bold step towards power format convergence.
Qi Wang
New Incisive Low-Power Verification for CPF and IEEE 1801 / UPF
On May 7, 2013 Cadence announced a 30% productivity gain in the June 2013 Incisive Enterprise Simulator 13.1 release. Advanced debug visualization, faster turn-around time, and the extension of eight years of low-power verification innovation to IEEE 1801/UPF are the key capabilities in the release.
When we talk about low-power verification its easy to equate it with simulation. For certain, simulation is the heart of a low-power verification solution. Simulation enables engineers to run their design in the context of power intent. The challenge is that a simulation-only approach is inadequate. For example, if engineers could achieve SoC quality by verifying the individual function of each power control module (PCM), then simulation could be enough. For a single power domain, simulation can be enough.
However, when the SoC has multiple power domains -- and we have seen SoCs with hundreds of them -- engineers have to check the PCMs and all of the arcs between the power modes. These SoCs often synchronize some of the domain switching to reduce overall complexity, creating the potential for signal skew errors on the control signals for the connected domains. Managing these complexities requires verification methodologies including advanced debug, verification planning, assertion-based verification, Universal Verification Methodology - Low Power (UVM-LP), and more (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Comprehensive Low-Power Verification
But even advanced verification methodologies on top of simulation aren't enough. For example, the state machine that defines the legal and illegal power mode transitions is often written in software. The speed and capacity of the Palladium emulation platform is ideal to verify in this context, and it is integrated with simulation sharing debug, UVM acceleration, and static checks for low-power. And, it reports verification progress into a holistic plan for the SoC. Another example is the ability to compare the design in the implementation flow with the design running in simulation to make sure that what we verify is what we intend to build.
Taken together, verification across multiple engines provides the comprehensive low-power verification needed for today's advanced node SoCs. That's the heart of this low-power verification announcement.
Another point you may have noticed is the extension of the Common Power Format (CPF) based power-aware support in the Incisive Enterprise Simulator to IEEE 1801. We chose to bring IEEE 1801 to simulation first because users like you sometimes need to mix vendors for regression flows. Over time, Cadence will extend the low-power capabilities throughout its product suite to IEEE 1801.
If you are using CPF today, you already have the best low-power solution. The evidence is clear: the upcoming IEEE 1801-2013 update includes many of the CPF features contributed to 1801/UPF to enable methodology convergence. Since you already have those features in the CPF flow, any migration before you have a mature IEEE 1801-2013 tool flow would reduce the functionality you have today.
If you are using Unified Power Format (UPF) 1.0 today, you want to start planning your move toward the IEEE 1801-2013 standard. A good first step would be to move to the IEEE 1801-2009 standard. It fills holes in the earlier UPF 1.0 definition. While it does lack key features in -2013, it is an improvement that will make the migration to -2013 easier. The Incisive 13.1 release will run both UPF 1.0 and IEEE 1801-2009 power intent today.
Over the next few weeks you'll see more technical blogs about the low-power capabilities coming in the Incisive 13.1 release. You can also join us on June 19 for a webinar that will introduce those capabilities using the reference design supplied with the Incisive Enterprise Simulator release.
=Adam "The Jouler" Sherer
(Yes, "Sherilog" is still here. :-) )