Platform for SOC design

Platform for SOC design
By David Larner, Embedded Systems
August 14, 2001 (10:27 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20010814S0023

Mentor Graphics claims to have the semiconductor design industry's first environment for rapidly creating, configuring and verifying platform-based, system-on-chip (SoC) designs. The Platform Express environment enables design teams to build and configure a platform core and its corresponding peripherals and software in a virtual prototype. Simultaneously, Platform Express generates a custom verification environment to verify interfaces in the portion of the design surrounding the embedded processor and its attached peripherals.

Platform Express allows drag and drop design of available processors, memories and peripherals automatically creating the necessary connections between components, depending on a selection of standard buses, including AMBA and VCI. Platform Express includes a memory map display that automatically displays address space use.

Mentor Graphics is collaborating with leading semiconductor firms to provide Platform Express desi gn kits for popular SoC Platforms. The first platform developers include Oki and Altera.