The glitch that stole the FPGA's energy efficiency

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are notorious for high power consumption. They are hard to power down in the same way as custom logic - so they have considerable static power consumption - and they use a lot more gates to achieve the same job with their greater flexibility.

However, a good proportion of an FPGA's power consumption is avoidable. A 2007 study carried out by researchers at the University of British Columbia and published in IEEE Transactions on VLSI Systems found that up to three quarters of the dynamic power consumption could be ascribed to glitches rather than actual functional state transitions for some types of circuit.

The heart of the problem lies with timing: early-arriving signals can drive outputs to the wrong state before the situation is 'corrected' by later signals and before the final state is ready for sampling at the next clock transition. When you consider the large die size of FPGAs relative to custom logic, it is not hard to see why delays can be so large between signals.

UBC's Julien Lamoureux and colleagues recommended the use of delay elements to align signals in time to reduce these glitch events.

At the International Symposium on Low Power Electronic Design earlier this year, Warren Shum and Jason Anderson of the University of Toronto proposed an alternative: making use of the don't care conditions used in logic synthesis to also filter out potential glitches:

"This process is performed after placement and routing, using timing simulation data to guide the algorithm...Since the placement and routing are maintained, this optimization has zero cost in terms of area and delay, and can be executed after timing closure is completed."

The alterations are made in the LUTs iteratively to create new truth tables that will reduce the number of glitch transitions during operation, borrowing some concepts from asynchronous design where glitches are considered actively dangerous rather than inconvenient. On benchmark circuits, the technique reduced glitch power by around 14 per cent on average and up to half in some cases.

Intel 32nm Medfield mobile processor specs and benchmarks leaked

The popular chip maker Intel that I like to call chipzilla is preparing their own mobile processor or SoC (system on chip) called Medfield that we all have probably heard about a few times. They’ve shown off a prototype device too and more details on that are below. Today we have some leaked specs and benchmarks that are actually quite impressive that put this new Intel mobile processor right up there with NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 and Qualcomm’s dual-core chipsets. More competition the better right guys?

Intel may still be a ways off from launching Android smartphones and tablets but being fully supported by 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich they are headed in the right direction — and now we have specs and performance ideas to help our minds wander with the possibilities. Apparently VR-Zone got all the info on Intel’s first true attempt at a full out SoC and we have all the details.

The 1.6 GHz x86 Intel mobile processor was running on a reference design 10″ tablet with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, WiFi, Bluetooth, camera’s and all that other usual stuff, and was tossed up against the current big dogs like the Tegra 2. Apparently they ran a few Caffeinemark 3 benchmarks and the higher clocked Intel Atom scored around 10,500 while the Tegra 2 hit 7,500 and Qualcomm’s 1.5 GHz dual-core racked up around 8,000 points.

Currently the power consumption was higher than wanted or anticipated and that could cause a problem with battery life obviously. Intel plans to cut that down a bit and make some strides in efficiency not to mention be launching on Android 4.0 ICS devices later next year. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more than a few production units at CES 2012 so stay tuned as our entire team will be there live.

A processor company as huge as Intel running on a wide array of Android devices could be a game-changer if done right so we’ll continue to monitor and update as we hear more.

Intel’s Medfield-based Android Smartphone and Tablet

Intel is coming to mobile phones! Really! The chipmaker is gearing up to show off its Medfield processors at CES this year, which would be exciting if I hadn't heard this same tale way too many times before.

Intel is the company that cries wolf in mobile. Back in 2006, Intel made the mistake of ditching its Xscale line, the processors used in many early smartphones and successful PDAs. Under the questionable guidance of Marvell, Xscale then went from a dominant mobile brand to just one among many chip lines out there.

That left Intel with absolutely zero access to mobile devices. Ever since then, the company's been trying to get back into the game. But rather than enhance industry-standard ARM designs, Intel's been trying to sell everyone on x86-based chips.

Intel appears one step closer to finally breaking into the mobile arena after making their reference tablet and smartphone designs accessible to MITs Technology Review. Both devices are based around Intel’s Medfield iteration of their Atom processor, a chip based on the 32nm manufacturing process and promising better battery life than previous mobile CPUs from the silicon maker.

The Medfield-based reference smartphone was reportedly up to snuff with other currently available handset designs, boasting “Blu-ray0quality” video and the ability to shoot burst photos at 15 frames per second. The handset made available was running Android 2.3, but the tablet featured Android 4.0. Google and Intel have talked about working more closely with the development of the latest version of Android, and it could pay off as the reference tablet was said to be both as thing and as lightweight as the iPad 2 while outperforming the current generation of Android 3.0 slates.

Intel still has some work to do in integrating 3G and 4G components into the Medfield design, but the company looks to make a push over the next year or two to establish itself as a leader in the mobile market. Companies such as Qualcomm and NVIDIA currently have a leg up, but if Intel’s design proves as powerful as initial reports the battle could be starting to heat up.

Nobody's listened so far. Here are some highlights of Intel's failed push into mobile:

June 2006: Intel sells off Xscale, which had won a 2004 PCMag Technical Excellence award for heralding a new era of multimedia smartphones. Xscale was used in successful products like HP's iPAQs, Motorola's Q series, the Dell Axim and the Palm Treo. According to The Register, Intel wanted to push x86-based chips into smartphones rather than sticking with ARM designs. 

September 2007: At that year's Intel Developer Forum, Intel says it has two new chips designed for devices with 4-inch screens. Menlow and Moorestown make it into exactly zero popular handheld devices over the next few years. 

March 2008: Intel introduces the Atom processor, saying it will power "MIDs," or handheld, mobile Internet devices. Over the next year many companies introduce MIDs, but nobody buys any of them. Rather than being a power-guzzling mobile chipset, the Atom finds success in the netbook realm as a slow but power-efficient laptop chipset.

August 2008: Intel introduces the CE 3100, its first system-on-a-chip for consumer electronics. The CE 3100 generates several smart TV announcements but fewer actual sales of smart TVs.

February 2009: Intel brings a "MID bar" to Mobile World Congress. In Hebrew, "midbar" means "wilderness," as in "forty years wandering in the." Intel also announces an alliance with LG to produce more MIDs nobody wants.

January 2010: Intel says the second-generation Atom, called Moorestown, will be a real mobile chipset. Intel introduces the first phone based on the Atom Moorestown processor, the LG GW990. It is about the size and shape of a brick. It never appears in any large market. However, Intel keeps talking up Moorestown throughout 2010.

February 2010: Intel joins with Nokia to promote MeeGo, a new Linux-based OS that's the merger of Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo. MeeGo is a stunning failure; Intel abandoned the project in September 2011.

January 2011: Intel CEO Paul Otellini says Windows 8 will run on smartphones with Intel chips. Other than one Steve Ballmer misquote last November, Microsoft has held a party line since then that Windows 8 will run on tablets and PCs, but not phones.

February 2011: MeeGo and Moorestown don't impress the market. Let's try again! Intel says its "Medfield" system-on-a-chip designs will come in 2012. Not much comes of Intel's mobile strategy in 2011 as the company gears up for Medfield, which will be shown at CES 2012.

March 2011: The head of Intel's ultra-mobile division leaves the company.

December 2011: Intel restructures its mobile division in an attempt to gain some traction.

To recap: fail, fail, fail, fail, fail. Faily fail fail.

Why Intel Might Succeed

There are a few new factors which might improve Intel's chances this time around. Back in September, Google said it would optimize Android for the next generation of Intel processors. That gives Intel a better OS than the proprietary Moblin/MeeGo nonsense it was working with before.

Windows 8 is also on the horizon, and while Windows 8 will work on ARM processors - a major threat to Intel - it means there will be a major tablet-oriented OS where the vast majority of legacy apps will be Intel-optimized. That could sway tablet developers to work with Intel chips.

In the phone world, though, the massive ecosystem around ARM means that Intel's sales pitch will have to be very compelling. The mobile-phone chip world is much more competitive than the desktop world Intel is used to. Within the ARM ecosystem alone, TI, Qualcomm, Nvidia, ST-Ericsson, Rockchip and others are constantly fighting for dominance. And mobile phone makers who want to try new architectures can also turn to MIPS or Power.

Intel has for years coasted on its critical mass in the PC industry. Even Apple came over to Intel after many years because of its low cost and economies of scale. But Intel doesn't have that advantage over companies like TI and Qualcomm in mobile.

It's not just about matching ARM-based designs on speed and power consumption, either. Intel will have to provide significantly better performance or lower power consumption to pull manufacturers away from the default, ARM world. Intel says it can do that by using a 32-nanometer process to produce its new system-on-a-chip. That's a solid argument, but Intel has made this argument too many times before. ARM vendors aren't far behind, either; both TI and Qualcomm have chips coming next year based on an even more efficient 28nm process.

We have to remember Michael Gartenberg's First Law. (Okay, maybe it's his second or third; not so sure of the numbering.) The dean of mobile tech analysts once told me, "never underestimate anyone very rich and very patient." That goes for Microsoft, and it goes for Intel as well.

Indian semiconductor company ships 12 million ICs

Bangalore, India based analog and mixed signal semiconductor chip design company; Cosmic Circuits has shipped 12 Million ICs till November 2011 and expects gross shipments of ASICs to exceed 16 Million ICs by March 2012. This is a good news for Indian ESDM industry, where an Indian company able to ship millions of chips.

Cosmic Circuits says its ICs are used in applications such as tablets, netbooks, cell phones and various other applications. Two main areas of focus are SensorASIC (analog companion chips for sensor applications) and PMASIC (custom power management solutions for portable electronics).

Ganapathy Subramaniam, the CEO of Cosmic Circuits, is projecting his company as one stop solution for all of their analog needs. Cosmic has 5 ICs in production now and expect to have nearly 10 ICs in production by 2012. Cosmic expect to ship more than 25M ICs in 2012 based on forecasts it has received from its customers.
India, where the demand for chips goes in billions both in revenue and shipment, needs Cosmic like companies to balance its trade deficit in electronics hardware.

Its time for VLSI design service companies in India to get into own product development.

Compiling Xilinx library for ModelSim simulator

It was all running cool with VHDL but when i tried to do post Place and Route simulation using SDF file of my design i stuck with following errors:

# ** Error: (vsim-SDF-3250) mips_struct.sdf(18): Failed to find INSTANCE '/top/dut/U1262'.
# ** Error: (vsim-SDF-3250) mips_struct.sdf(19): Failed to find INSTANCE '/top/dut/U1262'.
# ** Error: (vsim-SDF-3250) mips_struct.sdf(20): Failed to find INSTANCE '/top/dut/U1262'.
# ** Error: (vsim-SDF-3250) mips_struct.sdf(21): Failed to find INSTANCE '/top/dut/U1261'.
# ** Error: (vsim-SDF-3250) mips_struct.sdf(22): Failed to find INSTANCE '/top/dut/U1261'

googling a lot i found that i need to compile xilinx libraries and had to map it with ModelSim to get it worked. For this u need to write CompXlib in your TCL window of Xilinx.

CompXLib uses the ModelSim "vmap" command for library mapping. If the ModelSim environment variable is set, then the ".ini" file pointed to by the environment variable is modified. If the variable is not set, a local (in the directory in which CompXLib is run) "modelsim.ini" file contains the library mappings from the "vmap" command issued by CompXLib. If the "modelsim.ini" file is not writeable, the "vmap" command will make a local copy of the "modelsim.ini" file and write the library mappings to this file.

I used the “compxlib” command but still it was not working for me. When i checked my modelsim.ini file I found that the libraries was not mapped so i write below command in the modelsim.ini file and finally i find all compiled xilinx libraries in my library window of modelsim.

UNISIMS_VER = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\verilog\mti_se\unisims_ver
UNIMACRO_VER = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\verilog\mti_se\unimacro_ver
UNI9000_VER = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\verilog\mti_se\uni9000_ver
SIMPRIMS_VER = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\verilog\mti_se\simprims_ver
XILINXCORELIB_VER = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\verilog\mti_se\XilinxCoreLib_ver
SECUREIP = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\vhdl\mti_se\secureip
AIM_VER = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\verilog\mti_se\abel_ver\aim_ver
CPLD_VER = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\verilog\mti_se\cpld_ver
UNISIM = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\vhdl\mti_se\unisim
UNIMACRO = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\vhdl\mti_se\unimacro
SIMPRIM = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\vhdl\mti_se\simprim
XILINXCORELIB = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\vhdl\mti_se\XilinxCoreLib
AIM = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\vhdl\mti_se\abel\aim
PLS = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\vhdl\mti_se\abel\pls
CPLD = C:\Xilinx\10.1\ISE\vhdl\mti_se\cpld

** C:\Xilinx\10.1 is path in my system. Please check paths and make changes accordingly.

alternatively you can also use following commands

compxlib -s mti_se -arch virtex -lib unisim -lib simprim -lib xilinxcorelib -l vhdl -dir C:\Mentor\libraries\xilinx\10.1\ISE_Lib\ -log compxlib.log -w
compxlib -s mti_se -arch virtex2p -lib unisim -lib simprim -lib xilinxcorelib -l vhdl -dir C:\Mentor\libraries\xilinx\10.1\ISE_Lib\ -log compxlib.log -w
compxlib -s mti_se -arch virtex4 -lib unisim -lib simprim -lib xilinxcorelib -l vhdl -dir C:\Mentor\libraries\xilinx\10.1\ISE_Lib\ -log compxlib.log -w
compxlib -s mti_se -arch spartan3 -lib unisim -lib simprim -lib xilinxcorelib -l vhdl -dir C:\Mentor\libraries\xilinx\10.1\ISE_Lib\ -log compxlib.log -w
compxlib -s mti_se -arch virtex5 -lib unisim -lib simprim -lib xilinxcorelib -l vhdl -dir C:\Mentor\libraries\xilinx\10.1\ISE_Lib\ -log compxlib.log –w

**(C:\Mentor\libraries\xilinx\10.1\ISE_Lib\  is my path, you can use your own)

List of VLSI Companies

Today India is home to some of the finest semiconductor companies in the world. The semiconductor companies in India are reputed across the globe for their efficient design, verification, validation and manufacturing related solutions for integrated circuits. Also the government of India on approved a plan to construct and equip two wafer fabrication facilities in India, in a move designed to reduce India's reliance on imported semiconductors. Searching a lot we have come across following list of companies that works in VLSI domain. Do write to us if you find any name that needs to be included in this list.


Accel Technologies Limited
http://www.techaccel.com
http://www.accel-india.com
India,Singapore,UAE,USA

Advanced Micro Devices
http://www.amd.com
MNC

Alcatel Vacuum Technology (I)
http://www.adixen.com

Alliance Semiconductor
http://www.alsc.com
India,USA

Altera Semiconductor (I) Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.altera.com

Altium
http://www.altium.com
Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, USA

Ammos Software Technologies
http://www.ammostech.com
India

Analog Alchemy GmbH
http://www.analog-alchemy.de
Germany

Analog Devices Inc
http://www.analog.com
MNC

Apache Design Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.apache-da.com

Applied Materials
http://www.appliedmaterials.com
MNC

ARM Inc
http://www.arm.com
MNC

Atheros Communications, Inc.
http://www.atheros.com
China,India,Taiwan,USA

Atrenta
http://www.atrenta.com
MNC

AustrianMicroSystems (AMS)
http://www.austriamicrosystems.com
Headquartered in Austria-- Semiconductor Foundry

AutoESL Design Technologies
http://www.autoesl.com
USA

Baegan Technologies
http://www.baegan.com
India

Bartronics (I) Limited
http://www.bartronicsindia.com

Beceem Communications
http://www.beceem.com
India,USA

Bharat Electronics Limited
http://www.bel-india.com

BitMapper
http://www.bitmapper.com
India

Bluespec India
http://www.bluespec.com

Broadcom Corporation
http://www.broadcom.com
MNC

cadence
http://www.cadence.com
MNC

Calypto Design Systems
http://www.calypto.com
USA

Carbon Design Systems
http://www.carbondesignsystems.com
Japan, USA

CDAC
http://www.cdac.in
India

CG-CoreEl
http://www.cg-coreel.com
India

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Lt
http://www.charteredsemi.com
China, German, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, UK, USA

Chiptest
http://www.chiptestinc.com
India, USA

Cir-Q-Tech Tako Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.cir-q-tech.net

CircuitSutra Technologies
http://www.circuitsutra.com
India

Cirrus Logic Software
http://www.cirrus.com
China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, UK, USA

Cisco Systems Inc
http://www.cisco.com
MNC

CMR Design Automation Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.cmrda.com

Conexant Systems, Inc.
http://www.conexant.com
India,USA

ControlNet
http://www.controlnetindia.com
India

Cortina Systems
http://www.cortina-systems.com
Canada, China, India, USA

Cortina Systems, Inc.
http://www.cortina-systems.com
Canada,China,India,USA

Cosmic Circuits
http://www.cosmiccircuits.com
India

CoWare India Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.coware.com

Cranes Software International Limited
http://www.cranessoftware.com
bangalore

CriticalBlue
http://www.criticalblue.com
Japan,UK,USA

Cswitch
http://www.cswitch.com Canada, Germany, Japan, UK, USA

Cypress
http://www.cypress.com
MNC

Dafca Inc.
http://www.dafca.com
USA

Denali Software
http://www.denali.com
France, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, UK, USA

DigiBee Microsystems
http://www.dgbmicro.com
India

Digital Core Design
http://www.dcd.pl

DSP Group
http://www.dspg.com
Israel,USA

D\'gipro Systems Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.dgipro-systems.com

E-Con InfoTech Pvt Ltd
http://www.e-coninfotech.com

eASIC
http://www.easic.com
Israel, JAPAN, Singapore, USA

Edison Semiconductors
http://www.edisonsemiconductor.com

EDWARDS (I) Pvt Ltd
http://www.edwardsvacuum.com

eInfochips
http://www.einfochips.com
India,USA

Embedded Wireless Ltd
http://www.embeddedwireless.com
Malaysia

Emulex Corporation
http://www.emulex.com
India, UK, USA

eon infotech ltd
http://http://www.eoninfotech.com/ INDIA

Epcos AG
http://www.epcos.com
Brazil, Spain, India, Hungary, Austria (Deutschlandsberg), USA, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Singapore and China.

Esterel EDA Technologies SAS
http://www.esterel-eda.com
France

EVE Design Automation Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.eve-team.com

Fabtech Technologies International Pvt L
http://www.fabtecheng.com

Forte Design Systems
http://www.forteds.com
France,Japan,USA

Four-C-Tron
http://www.fourctron.com

Freescale Semiconductor
http://www.freescale.com
MNC

GDA Technologies
http://www.gdatech.com
India, Japan, USA

GE
http://www.ge.com
MNC

Genesis Microchip
http://www.gnss.com
Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, USA

HCL Technologies
http://www.hcltech.com
India

Hellosoft (I) Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.hyd.hellosoft.com

Hindustan Semiconductor Manufacturing In
http://www.hsmcindia.com

Ibiden Singapore Pte Ltd
http://www.ibiden.com

IBM
http://www.ibm.com
MNC

Ikanos Communications
http://www.ikanos.com
India,USA

Imagination Technologies (I) Private Ltd
http://www.imgtec.com

Implantaire Technologies (India) Private
http://www.implantaire.com
Karnataka INDIA

Incide S.A.
http://www.incide-semi.com
Spain

Indrion Technologies (I) Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.indrion.co.in

IndusEdge Innovations Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.indusedgeinnovations.com

Infineon Technologies
http://www.infineon.com
MNC

Infinera
http://www.infinera.com
India,China,Korea,Singapore,UK,USA

Infinity Infotech Parks Ltd
http://www.infinityitpark.com

Ingenient Technologies
http://www.ingenient.com

India, Japan, Korea, USA
Insilica
http://www.insilicainc.com
India,Slovenia,USA

Intel Corporation
http://www.intel.com
MNC

Interra Systems (I) Pvt Ltd.
http://www.interrasystems.com

Intersil Analog Service Pvt.Ltd.
http://www.intersil.com

IPextreme
http://www.ip-extreme.com
Germany, Japan, USA

Ittiam Systems Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.ittiam.com

iWave Systems
http://www.iwavesystems.com Bangalore, Japan

Jeda Technologies
http://www.jedatechnologies.net
China, USA

kasura Technologies
http://www.kasura.com
India

Kausra technologies
http://www.kasura.com/ INDIA

Kawasaki Microelectronics Inc.
http://www.k-micro.com

Kilopass Technology Inc.
http://www.kilopass.com
USA

KLA Tencor Software (I) Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.kla-tencor.com

KPIT Cummins Infosystems
http://www.kpitcummins.com
France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Poland, Singapore, UK, USA

Larsen & Toubro Limited
http://www.ltindia.com

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation
http://www.latticesemi.com
China,USA

LIGA Systems
http://www.ligasystems.com USA

Lofru Technologies
http://www.lofru.com/default.aspx

LogicVision
http://www.logicvision.com
Canada, USA

LSI Corporation
http://www.lsi.com
MNC

Magma Design Automation
http://www.magma-da.com
MNC

Marvell Semiconductor
http://www.marvell.com
MNC

Masamb Electronics Systems Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.masamb.com
Registered Office: A-8, Sector -41, Noida-201303, Uttar pradesh(India)
Corporate Office: G-19, Sector -63, Noida-201301, Uttar pradesh(India)
Phone: +91-120-4541900
Maven Silicon
No.74, 4th Cross, Omkara Nagar, Arekere Mico Layout Main Road, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore - 560076

Maxim Integrated Products
http://www.maxim-ic.com
India, Italy, Netherlands, Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, USA

Mentor Graphics (I) Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.mentor.com

Microchip
http://www.microchip.com
MNC

Mindspeed Technologies, Inc
http://www.mindspeed.com
china,india,japan,taiwan,france,UAE,USA

MindTree Consulting Ltd.
http://www.mindtree.com
Australia, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, UAE, United Kingdom, USA

MIPS Technologies
http://www.mips.com
China, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, UK, USA

Mirafra Technologies
http://www.mirafra.com
INDIA

Mistral Software
http://www.mistralsoftware.com
India, Germany, USA

Montalvo Systems
http://www.montalvosystems.com
India, USA

MosChip Semiconductor Inc
http://www.moschip.com India, USA

Natsem (National Semiconductors)
http://www.national.com
MNC

NEC Electronics Singapore Pvt Ltd
http://www.sg.necel.com

NeoMagic Corporation
http://www.neomagic.com
India, Israel, USA

NetLogic Microsystems
http://www.netlogicmicro.com
India, Taiwan, USA

Nevis Networks
http://www.nevisnetworks.com
China, India, UK, USA

NI Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.ni.com/india

NOMUS COMM-SYSTEMS
http://www.nomus.in
INDIA

Novas
http://www.novas.com
Israel, UK, USA

Novellus Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.novellus.com

nsys
http://www.nsysinc.com
India

Nulife Technology
http://www.nulifetech.com
India, USA

Nvidia Corporation
http://www.nvidia.com
China, England, Finland, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea,Russia, Taiwan, USA
NVLogic Technologies Pvt Plt
NVLogic Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 16-2-836/47/B, Road #9, Madhavanagar, Saidabad, Hyderabad - 500 059
E-Mail: info@nvlogic.com

NXP
http://www.nxp.com
MNC

OpenSilicon
http://www.open-silicon.com
India,USA

PACT XPP Technologies
http://www.pactxpp.com
Germany,Japan,USA

Patni Computer Systems Limited
http://www.patni.com

Perfectus Technology
http://www.perfectus.com
India,USA

Perftrends
http://www.perftrends.com
India, USA

Philips Semiconductors
http://www.philips.com
MNC

PMC-Sierra
http://www.pmc-sierra.com
Canada, China, India, Israel, USA

Posedge
http://www.posedge.com

ProcSys
http://www.procsys.com
India

ProDesign
http://www.prodesign-europe.com
Germany,USA

PulseCore
http://www.pulsecoresemi.com
India, Taiwan, USA

Qualcomm
http://www.qualcomm.com
China, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Netherland, singapore, Taiwan, UK, USA

Qualcorelogic
http://www.qualcorelogic.com
India, USA

QuickLogic Corporation
http://www.quicklogic.com
Canada, India, USA

Rambus Inc.
http://www.rambus.com
Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, USA

STMicroelectronics
http://www.st.com
MNC

Stretch Inc.
http://www.stretchinc.com Germany, Japan, USA

SYkio Technologies
http://www.sykiotech.com
India

Symmid Semiconductor Technology
http://www.symmidsemi.com
USA

Synfora
http://www.synfora.com
France, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, USA

Synopsys (I) Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.synopsys.com

Tallika Technologies Pvt Ltd
http://www.tallika.com

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.
http://www.tcs.com

TATA ELXSI LTD
http://www.tataelxsi.com

TechForce
http://www.tforceinc.com
India, USA

Tensilica Technologies
http://www.tensilica.com
India,USA

Teranetics
http://www.teranetics.com
India, USA

TES Electronics Soloutions
http://www.tesbv.com
India, France, Germany, Malaysia, UK, USA

Tessolve Services Pvt. Ltd.
http://www.tessolve.com

Texas Instruments
http://www.ti.com
MNC

Toshiba Embedded Software (India) Pvt Lt
http://www.toshiba-tesi.com

Transwitch
http://www.transwitch.com
China, India, Israel, Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Taiwan, UK

TriQuint Semiconductor
http://www.triquint.com
China, Costa Rico, Germany, USA

Tundra Semiconductor Corp.
http://www.tundra.com
Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea, UK, USA

UMC
http://www.umc.com
Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, USA

Velankani Information Systems
http://www.velankani.com
India, USA

VeriSilicon
http://www.verisilicon.com
China, France, Japan, Korea, Taiwan

VinChip Systems Inc
http://www.vinchip.com
USA

Virage Logic Corporation
http://www.viragelogic.com
Armenia, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, UK, USA

Vitesse
http://www.vitesse.com
USA

VLSI Plus
http://www.vlsiplus.com
Israel

waveaxis technologies
http://www.waveaxis.com
INDIA

Wipro Technologies
http://www.wipro.com
MNC

XILINX
http://www.xilinx.com MNC

XtremeEDA Corporation
http://www.xtreme-eda.com
Canada

Yogitech SPA
http://www.yogitech.com
Italy

Zilog
http://www.zilog.com
India, Philippines, UK, USA
Zoran Corporation
http://www.zoran.com
canada, China, Germany, Israel, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, UK, USA

Pronesis Technologies
http://pronesistech.com/
Ahmedabad-India, USA

ROHM Semiconductor
http://www.rohm.com/web/global/
MNC

SiValley Technologies Pvt. Ltd
http://www.sivalleytech.com/
Bangalore.
email : info@sivalleytech.com
Phone:  +91-80 4095 7500

Ineda Systems Pvt. Ltd
http://inedasystems.com/
Hyderabad, Pune

The Brainy CPU - Mimicking the brain, in silicon

What would you say if your smart device started self-learning different languages and became your smart personal translator? What if it had completed a study of quantum mechanics and became your virtual tutor (my wishful thinking to pass a Christmas exam)… :)

Fabricated analog very-large-scale integration (VLSI) chip used to mimic neuronal processes involved in memory and learning. (Image: Guy Rachmuth)

MIT researchers have taken this major step by designing a computer chip that mimics how the brain?s neurons perceive new information. This phenomenon is known as ?neuroplasticity? and is an ability of the brain related to learning and memory.

There are about 100 billion neurons in the brain, each of which forms synapses with many other neurons. A synapse is the gap between two neurons (known as the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons). The presynaptic neuron releases neurotransmitters, such as glutamate and GABA, which bind to receptors on the postsynaptic cell membrane, activating ion channels. Opening and closing those channels changes the cell's electrical potential. If the potential changes dramatically enough, the cell fires an electrical impulse called an action potential.

All of this synaptic activity depends on the ion channels, which control the flow of charged atoms such as sodium, potassium and calcium. Those channels are also key to two processes known as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), which strengthen and weaken synapses, respectively.

A silicon chip can simulate the activity of a single brain synapse - a connection between the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons relaying information flow - with 400 transistors.

How does the chip work?

In the chip, the transistors could mimic activities of different ion channels. Unlike conventional chips operating in on/off mode (digital), current through the transistors on this new brain chip will flow in analog fashion, driven by a gradient of electrical potential in the same manner of ions flowing through ion channels in a cell. Chi-Sang Poon, a principal research scientist in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, mentioned that it is possible to capture every ionic process going on in a neuron by tweaking the parameters of the circuit to match specific ion channels.

Future applications

There are quite a number of future applications using this brainy chip. It would allow the building of systems to model specific neural functions, such as the visual processing system. Interfacing with biological systems, allowing communication between neural prosthetic devices (e.g. artificial retinas) and the brain would also be possible. The technology would help neuroscientists learn more about how the brain works, and becoming a foundation for artificial intelligence devices. The chip would ultimately lead to a virtual translator and a tutor (I am not giving up on them yet!).

Source: http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=23397.php