Microelectronics
Design of digital, analogue, mixed-signal and RF ASICs.
When a board is no longer enough, because size, power consumption or series cost need to be reduced, we design the circuit. From architecture to layout, through FPGA prototyping and characterisation.
What we hear in a first meeting
- “Our board does the job, but it's too big and consumes too much for the next generation.”
- “We need extra support on verification, our team can't keep up with the tape-out schedule.”
- “We need to validate the architecture on FPGA before launching silicon.”
What we do, in practice
Digital ASIC
Architecture, RTL in VHDL or Verilog, synthesis, verification, DFT, back-end.
Analogue and RF ASIC
Schematics, simulations, layout, then measurements and characterisation on silicon.
Mixed-signal circuits
Data conversion, power management, sensor interfaces.
FPGA prototyping
Functional validation of the architecture before manufacturing, on emulation platforms.
Design flow
Design kits, CAD tools and utilities, test structures, libraries.
Team augmentation
Engineers embedded in your teams for a specific phase of the project.
Technical expertise
The detail, step by step
Digital ASIC
- —Architectures, VHDL and Verilog modelling
- —Simulations and synthesis
- —Functional verification (C, SystemVerilog, UVM) and formal verification
- —DFT: scan insertion, BIST
- —Back-end: place and route, timing, signoff
- —Prototyping on FPGA and emulation platforms
Analogue and RF ASIC
- —Schematic design
- —Simulations (corners, Monte Carlo)
- —Layout
- —Measurements and characterisation
Types of circuits
Examples of functions these skills apply to.
- —Modems and radio transceivers
- —Bluetooth, UWB, Zigbee
- —CMOS and infrared imagers
- —Audio, power management
- —Video encoding and decoding
Flow and tooling
- —Design kit development
- —CAD tools and utilities
- —Test structures
- —Library development
- —CMOS and SOI technologies, advanced nodes
Sectors of application
TelecommunicationsIndustryHealthcareTransportConsumer electronicsUse cases
Situations we know how to handle
Moving from a board to an integrated circuit
Feasibility study, function partitioning, area and power estimation, then FPGA prototype.
Verification support before tape-out
Verification plan, test environment, coverage, results review.
Characterisation of an analogue circuit
Dedicated test board, automated measurement bench, characterisation report.
Technologies and ecosystem
- VHDL
- Verilog
- SystemVerilog
- UVM
- Cadence
- Synopsys
- Siemens EDA
- AMD / Intel FPGA
- CMOS
- SOI
- Python
- Tcl
Indicative list. No official partnership is implied.
Way of working
- Technical assistance
- Engineers in staff augmentation embedded in your team.
- Fixed-price work package
- One phase of the flow (verification, layout, DFT…) with defined deliverables.
- Complete project
- From specification to characterised circuit, with the foundry of your choice.
Do you work across the whole chain or on a single step?
Both: a specific work package (verification, layout, DFT) or the complete project.
Can you prototype on FPGA before silicon?
Yes, it's often the first step to validate architecture and software in parallel.
Do you manufacture the circuits?
No, manufacturing is carried out by a foundry. We prepare the deliverables and characterise the samples.
A circuit to design or reinforce?
Describe the function, the targeted technology and the stage you're at.
Describe your situation
No specification document needed. A few lines are enough for us to know whether we can help.