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A REMOTE DESIGN STATION FOR CUSTOMER UNCOMMITTED LOGIC ARRAY DESIGNS

F r a n k R. R a m s a y

Ferranti

Electronics

Limited

ABSTRACT The p a p e r d e s c r i b e s a low c o s t r e m o t e d e s i g n s t a t i o n that can be i n s t a l l e d in c u s t o m e r s o f f i c e s , g i v i n g t h e m the full C.A.D. f a c i l i t i e s r e q u i r e d to specify, d e s i g n and v e r i f y an U n c o m m i t t e d L o g i c Array. The d e s i g n e r s can e n t e r and c h e c k t h e i r logic, l a y o u t s and test p r o g r a m s via this r e m o t e station. Access is t h e n a v a i l a b l e , via m o d e m links, to the m a i n F e r r a n t i C.A.D. f a c i l i t y for r u n n i n g of d e s i g n v e r i f i c a t i o n p r o g r a m s etc. The n e e d for such a s y s t e m came a f t e r m a n y y e a r s e x p e r i e n c e in h a n d l i n g customer designed circuits.

The aim is that the c u s t o m e r s w i l l p e r f o r m the logic and l a y o u t d e s i g n p h a s e in t h e i r own plant, u s i n g the large C.A.D. aids a v a i l a b l e at the d e s i g n c e n t r e w h e r e appropriate, and then w i l l e n t e r the final l a y o u t into t h e i r d e s i g n s t a t i o n via a drawing reading machine. F r o m h e r e the d a t a can be p l o t t e d and e d i t e d b e f o r e b e i n g t r a n s m i t t e d to the d e s i g n c e n t r e for full d e s i g n v e r i f i c a t i o n and f i n a l l y f o r m a t t i n g for the p a t t e r n g e n e r a t o r etc. W h i l e m a s k and p r o t o t y p e d e v i c e s are b e i n g m a n u f a c t u r e d the c u s t o m e r s can use their r e m o t e d e s i g n s t a t i o n to g e n e r a t e , d e b u g and v e r i f y the d e v i c e test program.

2.

U.L.A. C.A.D. S Y S T E M AT THE MICROELECTRONICS DESIGN CENTRE

i.

INTRODUCTION

Ferranti Electronics have been producing c u s t o m i s e d u n c o m m i t t e d logic a r r a y s (ULA) for the last ten years. The i n i t i a l aim b e h i n d the ULA c o n c e p t was to p r o d u c e a q u i c k e r m o r e e c o n o m i c a l r o u t e to c u s t o m i n t e g r a t e d c i r c u i t d e s i g n than the full, all mask, c u s t o m r o u t e we had b e e n u s i n g in the sixties. The ULA has s u c c e e d e d in this area t h r o u g h o u t the s e v e n t i e s w h e n m o s t of the c u s t o m d e s i g n s w e r e d o n e by Ferranti's Microelectronics Design Centre based engineers. However, for the e i g h t i e s , w h e r e m u c h m o r e e m p h a s i s of c u s t o m d e s i g n is to be p l a c e d on the c u s t o m e r , a new a p p r o a c h is r e q u i r e d . D e s i g n f a c i l i t i e s are r e q u i r e d in the c u s t o m e r s l a b o r a t o r i e s and o f f i c e s . Today i n t e g r a t e d c i r c u i t design, even for U L A ' s is i m p r a c t i c l e w i t h o u t a c c e s s to specialised design automation software and t h e r e f o r e for the c u s t o m e r to do this w o r k in his o f f i c e m e a n s the DA s o f t w a r e has to be a v a i l a b l e in his office.

The e x i s t i n g C.A,D. s y s t e m u s e d by F e r r a n t i at t h e i r D e s i g n C e n t { ~ c o n s i s t s of PDPII and A p p l i c o n s y s t e m s ' - ' . A V A X is n o w b e i n g i n s t a l l e d to i m p r o v e c a p a c i t y and performance. The s y s t e m has 3 inputs layout, logic and the test s c h e d u l e (Fig i). F r o m t h e s e are d e r i v e d the n e c e s s a r y p a t t e r n g e n e r a t o r tapes and test p r o g r a m s a l o n g w i t h the r e s u l t s of d e s i g n and i n t e r c o n n e c t v e r i f i c a t i o n etc.

EHECK

AL|CE

FIG

~ERVIEW OF U.L.A.

C.A.D.

SYSTEM

Paper 24.2 498

18th Design Automation Conference 0146.7123/81/0000-0498500.75 1981 IEEE

The k e y to this s y s t e m is that the v a r i o u s m o d u l e s are all l i n k e d and r e l a t e to a m a s t e r d e s i g n d a t a b a s e - the logic d i a g r a m (Fig 2.) This link e n s u r e an a u t o m a t i c c o m p l e t e v e r i f i c a t i o n of all p a r t s of the design. I m p l e m e n t a t i o n is such that it does not r e s t r i c t the d e s i g n e r s a b i l i t y to take full a d v a n t a g e of the ULA's f l e x i b i l i t y .

a v a i l a b l e to the d e s i g n e r s own C.A.D. systems.

on the

customers

APPLICON

-,.

) MAGNETIC

TAPE

FERRANTI APPLICON ARTWORK SYSTEM

CALMA

>M A G NETIC TAPE


. MAGNETIC TAPE

FEHRANTI

APPLICON

OTHER FULL C.A.D. S Y S T E M S - P

>

FERRANTI

APPLICON

I LOGIC D I A G R A M

D E S I G N V E R I F I C A T I O N
FIG 3 CUSTOMER INPUTS T O C.A.D. SYSTEM

_ ~ TEST S C H E D U L E V E R I F I C A T I O N

In the case w e r e the c u s t o m e r has an A p p l i c o n s y s t e m they w e r e o b v i o u s l y f u r t h e r a l o n g the line than m o s t but w o u l d still n e e d to p u r c h a s e the r e q u i r e d U L A p a c k a g e from F e r r a n t i for t h e i r i n t e r n a l use. In the o t h e r cases they w o u l d be i n v o l v e d in a c o n s i d e r a b l e a m o u n t of e f f o r t to t a i l o r t h e i r own C.A.D. s y s t e m to U L A d e s i g n and to w r i t e the s p e c i a l i s e d s o f t w a r e n e e d e d for a c o m p l e t e U L A d e s i g n v e r i f i c a t i o n system. E v e n a logic s i m u l a tor p r o b a b l y , the m o s t c o m m o n e l e c t r o n i c s C.A.D. tool, takes c o n s i d e r a b l e e f f o r t to t a i l o r to the e x a c t r e q u i r e m e n t s of ULA's. W h i c h e v e r C.A.D. s y s t e m the c u s t o m e r used they w e r e i n v o l v e d in a m a j o r c a p i t a l investment which required specialised s u p p o r t staff etc. W h e r e ever such a s y s t e m was i m p l e m e n t e d it w a s o b v i o u s l y s u c c e s s f u l b u t the i n v e s t m e n t level is c o n s i d e r e d too h i g h for m a n y d e s i g n g r o u p s and t h e r e f o r e the c o n c e p t of the r e m o t e d e s i g n s t a t i o n w a s born. 4. CONVENTIONAL C.A.D. SYSTEM

L A Y O U T I,- C I N T R A C E L L
CHECK INTER cELLJ

I f

AUTO

~-~ PLACEMENT

IFIG 2

LAYOUT I>[ R O U T I N GI

LOGIC D I A G R A M D A T A BASE L I N K

This s y s t e m is s p e c i a l l y t a i l o r e d for U L A w o r k and there are o b v i o u s a d v a n t a g e s to any r e m o t e s t a t i o n if it can have a c c e s s to this v e r i f i c a t i o n p o w e r etc.

M o s t c o n v e n t i o n a l C.A.D. s y s t e m s have a h a r d w a r e c o n f i g u r a t i o n as (Fig 4) and cost $300K to $400K for a 2 t e r m i n a l system. T h e y are u s u a l l y b a s e d a r o u n d a 16 bit c o m p u t e r w i t h a full c o m p l e m e n t of m e m o r y and a large disc. The t e r m i n a l s are fast response video displays, frequently colour, e q u i p e d w i t h tablet, f u n c t i o n keyboard, etc. The s y s t e m is s u p p o r t e d by h i g h speed m a g n e t i c tape and a fast p r e c i s i o n plotter. The s y s t e m s are e s s e n t i a l tools in the d e s i g n c y c l e of m o d e r n e l e c t r o n i c s , however, it is hard for local d e s i g n offices, w i t h p e r h a p s 2 or 3 d e s i g n e r s j u s t i f y the cost of a full system. F o r t u n a t e l y U L A ' s can be h a n d l e d at the front end w i t h a m u c h s m a l l e r a m o u n t of c o m p u t e r power.

3.

EXISTING

CUSTOMER

DESIGN

ROUTES

B e f o r e the r e m o t e d e s i g n s t a t i o n c o n c e p t c u s t o m e r s d e s i g n i n g their own U L A ' s c o u l d i n t e r f a c e w i t h the D e s i g n C e n t r e in a n u m b e r of ways. T h e y c o u l d send the p e n c i l i n t e r c o n n e c t d r a w i n g to the c e n t r e for d i g i t i s i n g and d a t a p r o c e s s i n g by F e r r a n t i personnel. The m a i n p r o b l e m w i t h this a p p r o a c h was in d e s i g n v e r i f i c a t i o n . O n l y the d e s i g n e r can solve d e s i g n p r o b l e m s and t h e r e f o r e the c u s t o m e r s e n g i n e e r h a d to s c h e d u l e time to v i s i t F e r r a n t i to solve any p r o b l e m s found by the system. O t h e r i n t e r f a c e s w e r e f r o m c u s t o m e r s own C.A.D. s y s t e m s (Fig 3). The m a i n p r o b l e m w i t h all these r o u t e s was the l i m i t e d a m o u n t of s p e c i a l i s e d U L A C.A.D. s o f t w a r e

to

Paper 24,2 499

FIG.

CONTROL TTY J

CONVENTIONAL C.A.D. SYSTEM 5.2. U T I L I S A T I O N Many of the F e r r a n t i U L A ' s are d e s i g n e d as h i g h v o l u m e p r o d u c t i o n d e v i c e s . For e c o n o m i c r e a s o n s this implies an e f f i c i e n t use of s i l i c o n area and t h e r e f o r e the U L A ' s are o f t e n r o u t e d to a v e r y h i g h d e n s i t y , f r e q u e n t l y in e x c e s s of 90% (Fig 6.) 5.3. FLEXABILITY A w i d e v a r i e t y of f u n c t i o n s i n c l u d i n g linear and d i g i l i n are o f t e n i n c o r p o r a t e d in layouts i m p l e m e n t e d in F e r r a n t i ULA's.

I
CPU ~HIDH SPEED PLOTTERI

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VDU KEYBOARD EDIT f VDU KEYBOARD EDIT TABLET STATION TABLET STATION FUNCTION BUTTONS FUNCTION BUTTONS

It is the m a i n aim of F e r r a n t i U L A ' s to produce economical custom designs. Any C.A.D. s y s t e m m u s t a l l o w the e n g i n e e r to take a d v a n t a g e of the p o t e n t i a l l y h i g h p a c k i n g d e n s i t i e ~ and f l e x i b i l i t y available. 5.4. THE U L A T O P O L O G Y The range of ULA types v a r i e s f r o m i00 to 2000 g a t e s w i t h a w i d e v a r i e t y of s p e e d / power/linear capabilities. T h e y all c o n s i s t of a m a t r i x of cells e n c a s e d in an a n u l u s of p e r i p h e r a l cells (Fig 7. ). T h e s e p e r i p h e r a l c o m p o n e n t s fall into two c a t e g o r i e s , those w h i c h h a v e s t a n d a r d m e t a l l i s a t i o n p a t t e r n s , and those w h i c h are on a g r i d allowing the e n g i n e e r to d e s i g n his own p e r i p h e r a l c i r c u i t s . The s t a n d a r d m e t a l l i s a t i o n s are a v a i l a b l e for T.T.L. inputs, T r i s t a t e s , P o w e r d r i v e r s etc, etc. The p e r i p h e r a l c o m p o n e n t s on a g r i d give the e n g i n e e r s the f l e x a b i l i t y to d e s i g n their own p e r i p h e r a l c i r c u i t s . 6. THE R E M O T E D E S I G N STATIONS

5.

THE

FERRANTI

U.L.A.

In u n d e r s t a n d i n g the f u n c t i o n of the r e m o t e d e s i g n s t a t i o n it is n e c e s s a r y to r e a l i s e the F e r r a n t i p h i l o s o p h y b e h i n d their U L A (2) 5.1. INTERCONNECT LAYER The ULA is c u s t o m i s e d by m e a n s of a s i n g l e layer m e t a l l i s a t i o n layer. This achieves faster, m o r e r e l i a b l e , s i m p l e r p r o c e s s i n g than m u l t i l a y e r t e c h n o l o g i e s . This is m a d e p o s s i b l e by the gate s t r u c t u r e u s e d w h i c h has a p s e u d o s e c o n d layer f o r m e d by d i f f u s i n g c r o s s u n d e r s at e v e r y cell (Fig 5.) and by the p r o c e s s used a l l o w i n g the Vcc and GND rails to p a s s t h r o u g h the s i l i c o n t h e r e b y s i m p l i f y i n g the i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n p r o b l e m .

6.1. Initial Design Concepts The i n i t i a l d e s i g n c o n c e p t for the r e m o t e d e s i g n s t a t i o n was a low cost s y s t e m ($40/50K) w h i c h w o u l d put as m u c h of the m a i n C.A.D. d e s i g n f a c i l i t y as p o s s i b l e in the c u s t o m e r s office. The s y s t e m w o u l d o b v i o u s l y r e q u i r e a cpu w i t h d i s c b a c k i n g s store, d r a w i n g r e a d i n g m a c h i n e input and some f o r m of g r a p h i c s e d i t i n g facility. In p r a c t i c e the s y s t e m b e c o m e s v e r y s i m i l a r to the c o n v e n t i o n a l C.A.D. s y s t e m above but the d i f f e r e n c e s are in the d e g r e e of p o w e r a v a i l a b l e in the CPU s e t u p and the lack of large p e r i p h e r a l support. It w i l l have o n l y one D e s i g n Terminal. On the final p r o p o s e d s y s t e m a m u l t i u s e r f a c i l i t y w i l l be a v a i l a b l e t h r o u g h a none d e s i g n t e r m i n a l p o r t i.e. a teletype. FIG. 5 TYPICAL U.L.A MATRIX CELL The final r e m o t e d e s i g n s t a t i o n c o n f i g u r a t i o n is as Fig 8.

Paper24.2 500

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PERIPHERAL

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Paper24.2 501

Full f a c i l i t i e s are a v a i l a b l e in the P D P I I / 23 for e n t e r i n g scaling, p l o t t i n g and e d i t i n g the ULA layout. F a c i l i t i e s also e x i s t for w r i t i n g of the test p r o g r a m and entry of the logic d e s c r i p t i o n . Access is then a v a i l a b l e to the m a i n C.A.D. s y s t e m via the M o d e m s and D E C N E T to run this d a t a on logic s i m u l a t i o n and d e s i g n v e r i f i c a t i o n programs.

Colour, a l t h o u g h e f f e c t i v e , was not c o n s i d e r e d the e c o n o m i c a l for s i n g l e layer m e t a l ULA's. It was felt that if d e s i g n e r s had t h e i r own t e r m i n a l s they w o u l d live w i t h a s c r e e n r e p a i n t time of a few seconds. I n i t i a l l y the T e k t r o n i x 4010 d i s p l a y was c h o s e n but later a c o m p a t i b l e r a s t e r s c r e e n w i t h j o y s t i c k c o n t r o l w a s substituted. 6.2.4. Digitisin~ Tablet

6.2. HARDWARE CONSIDERATIONS 6.2.1. Computer It was d e c i d e d to h a v e the s y s t e m a r o u n d a P D P I I / 2 3 for 3 m a i n r e a s o n s : (a) It was the s m a l l e s t of the PDPII f a m i l y thg~ w o u l d s u p p o r t the R S X ' ~ ) o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m in a m u l t i u s e r s i t u a tion. It was reasonable cost.

This w a s an area in w h i c h that t h e r e c o u l d be no c o m p r o m i s e on w h a t w a s o f f e r e d w i t h a full C.A.D. system. A l t h o u g h w o r k i n g in the a r e a of a u t o m a t i c l a y o u t and a u t o m a t i c l a y o u t aids the m a n u a l l a y o u t is still i m p o r t a n t . If a U L A is b e i n g d e s i g n e d for h i g h p a c k i n g d e n s i t i e s then m a n u a l l a y o u t or m a n u a l l a y o u t c o m p l e t i o n w i l l still n e e d to be used. T h i s w i l l r e s u l t in a large d r a w i n g and t h e r e f o r e a large d i g i t i s i n g t a b l e t w i l l still be the m o s t e f f e c t i v e w a y of h a n d l i n g the layout. 6.2.5. Plotter

(b)

(c)

The l e a r n i n g c y c l e for o u r e n g i n e e r s u n d e r s t a n d i n g it and its s o f t w a r e w o u l d be minimum.

The last c o n s i d e r a t i o n is p r o b a b l y one of the m o s t i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r s and a f a c t o r o f t e n o v e r l o o k e d in n e w s y s t e m design. 6.2.2. Disc

The d i s c w a s an i m p o r t a n t c o n s i d e r a t i o n because initial estimates showed that the r e q u i r e d d a t a s t r u c t u r e w o u l d n o t fit into a 32K w o r d b l o c k and t h e r e f o r e d a t a p a g i n g was g o i n g to be e s s e n t i a l . F l o o p i e s w e r e d i s m i s s e d , p a r t l y due to speed, b u t l a r g e l y due to c o n c e r n that they m a y not p e r f o r m r e l i a b l y e n o u g h in the field. N o t all e n g i n e e r s a p p r e c i a t e the i m p o r t a n c e of f l o p p y d i s c b a c k u p and replacement. C o n s i d e r a t i o n was g i v e n to W i n c h e s t e r discs. The m a i n p r o b l e m s here w e r e the d i f f i c u l t y of s y s t e m b a c k u p on a s y s t e m w i t h o u t m a g n e t i c tape and our lack of s u p p o r t / k n o w l e d g e on a W i n c h e s t e r b a s e d RSXlIM system The s y s t e m was e v e n t u a l l y b a s e d a r o u n d twin 5MB h a r d d i s c s (RL01's), one fixed and one r e m o v a b l e . 6.2.3. Edit Terminal Although a colour display with equivalent speed of r e s p o n s e of the m a j o r C.A.D. systems seemed desirable, a mono display w a s c h o s e n on g r o u n d s of cost.

P l o t t e r s are e x p e n s i v e but p l o t s of d r a w i n g s are e s s e n t i a l . Although Ferranti are n o w u s i n g a u t o m a t i c l a y o u t i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n c h e c k i n g of all t h e i r U L A ' s a p l o t of the l a y o u t is a l w a y s r e q u i r e d . U L A l a y o u t s are u s u a l l y d r a w n at the t r a d i t i o n a l 200 or 250 x size w h i c h r e s u l t s in p l o t s of up to 52 i n c h e s square. Due to resolution even crude m e t a l l i s a t i o n p l o t s at this size n e e d to be d r a w n r e a s o n ably a c c u r a t e l y (better than I0 mil). T h i s r e s u l t s in a r e q u i r e m e n t for a large a c c u r a t e p l o t t e r or a s m a l l e r p l o t t e r w i t h the a d d e d c o m p l i c a t i o n of w i n d o w i n g softw a r e etc. T h e p l a n for the r e m o t e d e s i g n s t a t i o n is to m a k e the p l o t t e r an option. If no p l o t t e r is a v a i l a b l e on the s y s t e m files w i l l be t r a n s f e r r e d d o w n the line to the Design Centre for p l o t t i n g . T h e s e can then be d e s p a t c h e d to the c u s t o m e r by one of the c o u r i e r s e r v i c e s . 6.3. System Software

T h e r e m o t e d e s i g n s t a t i o n is a tool for U L A d e s i g n and n o t a g e n e r a l p u r p o s e g r a p h i c system. Its o p e r a t i o n is b a s e d a r o u n d a n u m b e r of s p e c i f i c tasks, all of w h i c h w i l l be run in the R S X l I M o p e r a t i n g system. T h e y w i l l be c o n t r o l l e d by i n d i r e c t c o m m a n d files to m a k e the c o m p u t e r o p e r a t i o n i n v i s i b l e to the user.

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6.3.1.

Layout

Design

Entry

This is the e n t r y via the d r a w i n g r e a d i n g m a c h i n e of the l a y o u t d e s i g n e r s p e n c i l i n t e r c o n n e c t pattern. All o p e r a t i o n s r e l a t e d to the t o p o l o g y of the ULA are c o n t r o l l e d by a table of g e o m e t r y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the array. This table c o n t a i n s i n f o r m a t i o n on cell pitch, track d e n s i t y etc. (Fig 9.)
NUMBER NUMBER X STANDARD OF + OF BLOCKS IN MATRIC PER BLOCK

c o l u m n s A-Z) the o p e r a t o r can call up any g i v e n cell area by t y p i n g its r e f e r e n c e number. The area then d i s p l a y e d is c e n t r a l i s e d on that r e f e r e n c e cell. Scale and t h e r e f o r e n u m b e r of cells d i s p l a y e d d e p e n d s on the v e r s i o n of the w i n d o w c o m m a n d used w i t h the cell r e f e r e n c e numbers. A 'backcloth' is a v a i l a b l e to help o p e r a tors d e t e r m i n e l o c a t i o n s of c o n t a c t holes etc, on a g i v e n matrix. This is a s y m b o l i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the ULA d i f f u s i o n and c o n t a c t holes. It can be s w i t c h e d on at half and full levels. Half level is for e x p e r i e n c e d users and has less i n f o r m a t i o n than d i s p l @ y e d on the full b a c k c l o t h .

X + Y Y

CELLS

TRACK

PITCH ALLOWED

PERIPHERALS CELL

PERIPHERAL MATRIC CELL

LOCATIONS PATTERN PATTERN

6.3.3.

Logic

Diagram

Entry

BLACKCLOTH BLACKCLOTH

PERIPHERAL

CALIBRATION ETC

POINTS

The key r e f e r e n c e d o c u m e n t or d a t a base in the F e r r a n t i C.A.D. s y s t e m for ULA's o p e r a t i n g at their M i c r o e l e c t r o n i c s D e s i g n C e n t r e is the logic diagram. At the c e n t r e this is e n t e r e d into the s y s t e m t h r o u g h the A p p l i c o n s y s t e m as a c o m p l e t e g r a p h i c a l drawing. The same logic data is to be e n t e r e d at the r e m o t e d e s i g n s t a t i o n but i n i t i a l l y this w i l l be typed in as a n e t w o r k list, r a t h e r than e n t e r e d as a d i a g r a m to save the c o m p l i c a t i o n of data s t r u c t u r e s w i t h arcs and text etc. This logic d i a g r a m w i l l then form the r e f e r e n c e t a b l e s for layout and logic c h e c k i n g routines. 6.3.4. Test Program Entry will

FIG.

TABLE

OF

TOPOLOGY

INFORMATION

FOR REMOTE

DESIGN

STATION

The s y s t e m e x t r a c t s the ULA typ~ from the first part of the job n u m b e r and from this d e t e r m i n e s w h i c h table c h a r a c t e r istics to use. C a l i b r a t i o n p o i n t s and d e a d b a n d are also set up via the table. zones

A f t e r c a l i b r a t i o n the only d a t a e n t e r e d into the s y s t e m at this stage is t r a c k c e n t r e lines and s p e c i a l m a t r i x cell links etc. B e c a u s e d i g i t i s i n g is time c o n s u m i n g the s y s t e m allows all o t h e r o p e r a t i o n s , such as data e d i t i n g to be p e r f o r m e d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y at the edit t e r m i n a l while digitising. 6.3.2. Layout Editing

As on the m a i n s y s t e m enter the d e v i c e test

the d e s i g n e r program.

This is in the h i g h level l a n g u a g e SAM (4) and is used for b o t h logic v e r i f i c a t i o n and p r o d u c t i o n of the final A.T.E. ~rogram.

7.

COMMUNICATIONS

This is p e r f o r m e d at the g r a p h i c s t e r m i n a l in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h a j o y s t i c k c o n t r o l of the curser. All the usual c o m m a n d s to add and m o d i f y d a t a exists. Two intere s t i n g f e a t u r e s are the w i n d o w and backcloth facilities. As on all s y s t e m s it is n e c e s s a r y to w i n d o w into the area r e q u i r e d in order to o b t a i n s u f f i c i e n t r e s o l u t i o n for easy editing. As this s y s t e m is d e s i g n e d to edit the ULA m a t r i x and all cells are i d e n t i f i e d by r e f e r e n c e n u m b e r s (rows i-

The m o s t i m p o r t a n t f e a t u r e of the r e m o t e d e s i g n s t a t i o n is its c o m m u n i c a t i o n link w i t h the m a i n F e r r a n t i C.A.D. s y s t e m at their M i c ~ o e l e c t r o n i c s D e s i g n Centre. This link w i l l be at 2400 Baud on the n o r m a l dial up t e l e p h o n e n e t w o r k s . The c o m m u n i c a t i o n s w i l l be c o n t r o l l e d by D E C N E T (5). The e n g i n e e r at the c u s t o m e r site w i l l t r a n s m i t to the c e n t r e 3 m a i n f i l e s : (a) (b) (c) layout logic test p r o g r a m

Paper24.2 503

In a d d i t i o n he w i l l send m e s s a g e files requesting runs of the logic s i m u l a t o r , i n t e r c o n n e c t i o n check p r o g r a m etc. The o u t p u t of these runs, e r r o r m e s s a g e s etc, w i l l be sent b a c k later the same day or the f o l l o w i n g day by the same links. In this w a y the c u s t o m e r e n g i n e e r w i l l have full a c c e s s to the s p e c i a l i s e d U L A s o f t w a r e n e c e s s a r y for c o m p l e t e d e s i g n verification.

REFERENCES I. A u t o m a t i o n of D e s i g n L o g i c Arrays. - F.R. for U n c o m m i t t e d Ramsay D.A.C.80

2.

U L A T e c h n i c a l H a n d b o o k Issue 1 Ferranti Electronics Limited. RSXlIM Digital Equipment Corporation

3. 4.

SAM Integrated Circuit Testing Language - Ferranti Electronics Limited. - Internal Document. DECNET Digital Equipment Corporation.

5.

Paper 24.2 504

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