From PC Multimedia Chipsets to Digital Consumer SOC: Evolution and Challenges

This presentation starts with evolution of the optical-storage chipsets for PC multimedia towards full-blown, next-generation SOC for digital consumer applications. Design challenges are reviewed and explored from submicron to nanometer eras in multiple levels of technology developments such as market-driven software/applications, advanced system architecture and engineering to address computation and connectivity requirements, performance-demanding but power-efficient circuit and functional blocks and the growing complexity being faced by increasingly large-scale chip integration. SOC companies will need to effectively cope with all incurred engineering issues to successfully achieve their competitive and leading positions.