Remote Interface for Managing the Design and Configuration of an Integrated Circuit Semiconductor Design

Abstract

A software system for facilitating the design process and minimizing the time and effort required to complete the design and fabrication of an integrated circuits (IC) is described. The software system utilizes a data center having a plurality of repositories, rules engines and design and verification tools to automatically produce a hardened GDSII description or other representation of the device in response to the formation of a electronic license agreement. Designers select contractual terms for incorporating third party intellectual property and then design and initiate manufacture of the IC by way of a network portal.

1 . A method for designing a configurable integrated circuit by a remotely located designer, the method comprising a web portal for: entering into a contractual agreement with a host to access a suite of components provided by at least one vendor of intellectual property, selecting components from the suite of components to design an optimized representation of an integrated circuit; testing the representation of the integrated circuit; paying for the selection and testing of the selected components; and generating at least one hardware definition language (HDL) description file describing the integrated circuit. 
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 paying for at least one of the following: designing the integrated circuit, synthesizing the design of the integrated circuit, verifying the design of the integrated circuit and manufacturing the integrated circuit; and   distributing payment to each of the at least one vendor of intellectual property in accordance with a contractual agreement between the host and each of the at least one vendor of intellectual property.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising distributing payment to each of at least one tools vendor in accordance with a contractual agreement between the host and the at least one tool vendor of intellectual property. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising distributing payment to a foundry in accordance with a contractual agreement between the host and the foundry. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  further comprising distributing payment to the foundry in accordance with the contractual agreement between the host and the foundry whenever integrated circuits are manufactured by the foundry. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising optimizing operating system code based on the optimized representation of an integrated circuit. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  further comprising distributing payment to an operating system vendor in accordance with a contractual agreement between a host and the operating system vendor. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the distributed payment is calculated base on the features provided by the optimized operating system code. 
     
     
         9 . A method for enabling the design of a configurable integrated circuit, the method comprising: entering into a first contractual agreement to provide access to:
 i. a suite of components provided by at least one vendor of intellectual property for implementing an optimized representation of an integrated circuit;   ii. a suite of tools for testing the representation of the integrated circuit;   iii. a layout tool; and   iv. a foundry for manufacturing the integrated circuit; and   receiving payment for the selection, testing and manufacturing the configurable integrated circuit; and   distributing payment to vendors of the intellectual property, tools and manufacturer of the integrated circuit in accordance with a second, third and fourth contractual agreement, respectively.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the agreements are electronic agreements. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9  wherein access is provided through a web portal. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the suite of components provided by at least one vendor of intellectual property for the design of a representation of an integrated circuit, the suite of tools for testing the representation of the integrated circuit and the layout tool are hosted in a data center. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the first contractual agreement provides for an initial payment before access is granted. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the first contractual agreement is between a designer and one of a plurality of vendors of intellectual property. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising optimizing operating system code based on the optimized representation of an integrated circuit. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising distributing payment to an operating system vendor in accordance with a contractual agreement between a host and the operating system vendor. 
     
     
         17 . A computer readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions for: entering into a contractual agreement with a host to access a suite of components provided by at least one vendor of intellectual property, selecting components from the suite of components to design an optimized representation of an integrated circuit; testing the representation of the integrated circuit; paying for the selection and testing of the selected components; and generating at least one hardware definition language (HDL) description file describing the integrated circuit. 
     
     
         18 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 17  further comprising executable instructions for:
 paying for at least one of the following: designing the integrated circuit, synthesizing the design of the integrated circuit, verifying the design of the integrated circuit and manufacturing the integrated circuit; and   distributing payment to each of the at least one vendor of intellectual property in accordance with a contractual agreement between the host and each of the at least one vendor of intellectual property.