Microsoft Touts DFM for Systems and Chip Design
By Mark LaPedus, SemiMD senior editor
Chip scaling is expected to continue for the next decade, but systems houses face a number of challenges in semiconductor production and design-for-manufacturing (DFM), according an executive from Microsoft Inc.
“I believe we still have ten years in the pipeline to continue Moore’s Law,” said Ilan Spillinger, corporate vice president for hardware and technology within the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.
The IC industry is still not slowing down and expected to scale “every two years” to the next node, said Spillinger, who currently leads the Xbox 360 and Kinect architecture and verification, silicon design, hardware incubation, and business development efforts at Microsoft.
While the industry marches down Moore’s Law, the chief concerns for Spillinger include power consumption and leakage in IC designs. Another challenge to just “how to consume the transistors” in next-generation designs, he said in an interview with SemiMD after a presentation at DesignCon in Santa Clara, Calif. on Tuesday (Jan. 31).
To enable next-generation systems and chips, designers must also pay strict attention to several disciplines within design-for-manufacturing – or what he calls Dfx.
Within Microsoft, Dfx includes the following disciplines: DfA (design-for-assembly); DfC (design-for-compliance); DfG (design-for-green); DfM (design-for-manufacturing); DfS (design-for-sourcing); DfR (design-for-reliability); DfT (design-for-test); DfSa (design-for-safety); and DfSe (design-for-serviceability).
During the presentation at the event, he hailed the development of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game console and interactive Kinect system. At present, the Xbox 360 makes use of an integrated processor/graphics chip based on the PowerPC from IBM Corp. Made on a foundry basis by IBM, the 45nm device is built around a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. The standalone Kinect box makes use of an ARM-based device from Marvell.
He declined to comment on the details on the next-generation chips or product details for the next-generation Xbox.
During the presentation, he listed seven trends in the game/interactive console market: 1) the integration of more sensors; 2) the explosion of data; 3) the shift towards cloud computing; 4) a move towards pervasive displays; 6) the use of ubiquitous connectivity; and 7) the move to natural user interfaces.
“I believe the natural user interface is becoming more and more pervasive,” he said. The Kinect itself makes use of interface commands, such as voice, vision and gestures.
What’s next? Smell and taste could be the next or future interface commands, he said.
