WorkProductDescriptor
Work Product (Artifact): IP Block - Cell
A re-usable electronic circuit element, or group of elements, that is used within multiple designs.
Purpose
IP blocks usually provide some functional unit that is convenient to group – families with different characteristics (such as operations or performance) for analog or custom design such IP blocks are as amplifiers, interface buffers, oscillators, signal modulators and demodulators. For digital design these may be data registers, encoders, decoders, even processors. Certain types of memory maybe treated as analog or custom IP, because of its more specialized nature.
Relationships
RolesResponsible: Modified By:
Input ToMandatory: Optional:
  • None
External:
  • None
Output From
Main Description

IP Blocks can be represented in a variety of ways according to technology and design flow.

For analog design the primary representations are:

  • Circuit Schematics
  • Circuit functions used e.g. symbols, functions
  • Circuit connections e.g. netlists, connection lists, signal lists, from-to’s
  • Circuit models e.g. behavior, performance, fault, verification, signal integrity, electromagnetic interference, thermal
  • Signal characteristics e.g. signal type, level, class
  • Circuit layouts – floorplans, physical geometry
  • Circuit parameter extraction e.g. parasitics
  • Circuit checks e.g. Layout vs Schematic
  • Circuit layout manufacturing and test e.g. GDSII, IPC350
  • Circuit device programming e.g. JTAG
  • Digital and Verification IP blocks are not addressed in this configuration of the Solution for Electronic Design.
Properties
Optional
Planned
Tailoring
Representation Options

The main aspect of tailoring addressed via the Solution for Electronic Design are naming of design, library or cell versions which present IP blocks.

Other relevant areas are the naming of Enhancement Requests and Change Request to reflect the design area or function under change or primary activity e.g. schematics, layout or analysis.

Naming or structuring of libraries to facilitate parallel working and re-use are related concerns.

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