Licensable vs. Captive Cores
A key factor determining how a DSP core can be used is whether the core is licensable or foundry-captive. A licensable core is provided to the user for use in chips which are to be fabricated in the facility of the user's choice (often this is the user's own fabrication facility). Licensable cores are generally provided by small and medium-sized companies that do not have their own chip fabrication facilities. Current vendors of licensable cores include DSP Group, Clarkspur Design, and Tensleep Design.
A foundry-captive core is one that can be used only in chips that are fabricated in the vendor's own fabrication facilities. Foundry-captive cores are currently offered by Texas Instruments, AT&T Microelectronics, and SGS-Thomson Microelectronics. Note that some semiconductor vendors license a core and use it to provide foundry-captive DSP core-based ASIC services to their customers. Examples of companies who follow this approach include LSI Logic and VLSI Technology. In such cases, there are two views of the design process-to the semiconductor vendor, the design process is that of using a licensable core; to the customer (the ASIC designer), the process is that associated with a foundry-captive core.
1. 设计者提供设计和工具的许可证Licensable
DSP Group (Pine and Oak Cores), 3Soft, ARM (RISC)
提供包括HDL在内的模拟模型,工具或仿真器
使用者负责设计制造.
2. 核厂商设计并制造集成电路芯片Captive
TI, Motorola, Lucent, VLSI, SSI, Cirrus, Adaptec
3. 核厂商卖核, 负责为客户设计并制造芯片Foundary
LSI logic, TI, Lucent