105: Some Paths Are More Suicidal

Embedded.fm · 17 Jun 2015 · 48m

What this episode covers

Manny Wright, Senior FAE Manager at Cortus, explains the process of designing custom processor IP, from RTL to silicon fabrication. He details the high costs and long timelines (1.5+ years, millions of dollars) involved in tape-out, the role of FPGAs like the Xilinx Spartan in early development, and the importance of configurable cores for power and cost efficiency. Wright also discusses security features, debugging methods like JTAG and trace, and the challenges of protecting intellectual property from reverse engineering.

Mentioned

Companies
Cortus, ARM, TSMC, UMC, Microsemi, Leapfrog
Products
Arduino Due
Chips
Xilinx Spartan
Tools
GCC, Keil, IAR

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