
Freescale Semiconductor
White Paper
ASICRCFWP
Rev. 1, 11/2004
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., 2004. All rights reserved.
Design managers often accept application-specific integrated
circuit (ASIC)-based solutions as their least expensive option in
developing telephony infrastructure solutions, including
modems. For early-generation wireless base stations, the
demands of code division multiple access (CDMA) air
interfaces and the limitations of programmable digital signal
processors (DSPs) made ASICs a comfortable solution.
However, there may be a price to pay for this comfort. This
paper explores the total cost of ASIC ownership and challenges
the conclusion that ASICs are always the least expensive
choice. It enumerates the benefits of Freescale’s Reconfigurable
Compute Fabric (RCF) technology, which can greatly reduce
engineering development time and project costs while yielding
a longer lasting revenue stream.
CONTENTS
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
2
The ASIC-Based Solution .......................................2
ASIC Design Flow.................................................. 2
Total Cost of ASIC-Based Design.......................... 4
Amortization of ASIC Development Costs ............5
Cost of Being Late to Market ..................................5
Freescale Solution: Reconfigurable
Compute Fabric .......................................................6
Accelerated Development Methodology ................6
Impact of RCF Methodology on Development Cost 7
Benefits of RCF Methodology ................................7
Conclusion ..............................................................8
2.1
2.2
2.3
3
ASIC Versus Reconfigurable Compute
Fabric (RCF) Solutions
By Roman Robles