CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
9 July 2012
Product News
Synopsys' DesignWare IP for PCI Express with Support for Low-Power Sub-States Successfully Taped Out in Multiple Designs
Synopsys, Inc today announced that its industry-first PCI Express controller IP with support for low-power sub-states has successfully taped out in multiple designs. The addition of the L1.1 ("snooze") and L1.2 ("off") sub-states to Synopsys' DesignWare® controller IP for PCI Express 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 enables designers to reduce power consumption in key market segments, including camera, card reader, networking and wireless applications serving the ultrabook and tablet markets. L1 sub-states reduce a PCI Express system's link idle power consumption from 15 to 20 milliwatts per lane to 10microwatts per lane, or by approximately 99 percent, by repurposing the signals between the PHY and the controller so that they turn off the high-speed circuits in the PHY when not in use.
"Reducing power consumption in every aspect of an SoC is key for a mobile design's success," said Eric Esteve, market analyst at IPnest. "The availability of L1 sub-states in PCI Express controller IP will enable lower power consumption, which in turn improves battery life—a key differentiator in today's mobile designs."
Reducing standby power is a prerequisite for the emerging thin and light form factor mobile markets, and has now become critical in multiple market segments that must meet stringent regulatory power requirements such as European Regulation 1275/2008. To address these requirements, PCI-SIG members, including Synopsys, are proposing L1 sub-states to supplement previously adopted power saving features such as Latency Tolerance Reporting (LTR) and Optimized Buffer Flush/Fill (OBFF). Synopsys' first-to-market support for L1 sub-states has already enabled market leaders to integrate this new power-saving technology into ten designs while maintaining backward compatibility with existing PCI Express devices. With first silicon back on several of these designs, adopters are well on their way to delivering their low-power mobile products on or ahead of schedule.
"With the availability of L1 sub-states in our DesignWare controller IP for PCI Express, Synopsys leads the industry in adopting and rolling out the latest PCI-SIG enhancements," said John Koeter, vice president of marketing for IP and systems at Synopsys. "Our complete PCI Express controller IP portfolio helps reduce designers' integration risk and development time. With our first-to-market rollout of L1 sub-states, the portfolio continues to be on the forefront of power conservation for mobile and consumer device designers using PCI Express."
About DesignWare IP
Synopsys is a leading provider of high-quality, silicon-proven IP solutions for system-on-chip (SoC) designs. The broad DesignWare IP portfolio includes complete interface IP solutions consisting of controllers, PHY and verification IP for widely used protocols, analog IP, embedded memories, logic libraries, processor cores and subsystems. To support software development and hardware/software integration of the IP, Synopsys offers drivers, transaction-level models, and prototypes for many of its IP products. Synopsys' HAPS® FPGA-Based Prototyping Solution enables validation of the IP and the SoC in the system context. Synopsys' Virtualizer™ virtual prototyping tool set allows developers to start the development of software for the IP or the entire SoC significantly earlier compared to traditional methods. With a robust IP development methodology, extensive investment in quality, IP prototyping, software development and comprehensive technical support, Synopsys enables designers to accelerate time-to-market and reduce integration risk. For more information on DesignWare IP, visit http://www.synopsys.com/designware.
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