For many chip designers, the real tradeoff is in doing more with the same amount of power, not doing more with less.

 

During the last quarter (Q1 2009), more chip architects performed design investigations in the 0.25 watt to 1watt power range, followed closely by the 1.5w to 4w range (see Figure 1). Designs using less than 0.11watts continued to decline.

 

 

Figure 1: Total design investigations – a prelude to chip starts – versus total chip power shows a marked increase in lower power devices.

 

This may seem counterintuitive, especially at a time when low-power devices are the rage among consumers. But digging a bit deeper into the data (1) reveals other clues. For example, the most popular market segments targeted for these investigation are in the areas of communication and consumer devices. Also, while a significant percent of these investigations appear to be at the higher process nodes, namely 90nm and 130nm, the first month of the second quarter (2Q09) experienced a sharp increase in design exploration at 65nm.

 

Let’s add one more data point into this mix before we draw any conclusions. Most handheld wireless devices operate in the 1w to 3w range. Embedded processors tend to be in the 3w to 5w power range. That reinforces the hard data that pegs the power-range of interest at communication (wireless devices) and consumer (wireless devices and embedded) markets.

 

Do these trends support the much-touted growth of low-power systems? Certainly, because devices in these power ranges are doing far more in term of overall feature sets than similar devices from a mere two years ago.

 

Doing more with less makes good press. But doing more with the same amount of power makes good products and – many would argue – is equivalent to a decrease in overall power usage.

 

 

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Note: (1) * This data represents over 44,000+ unique worldwide and regional pre-silicon design investigations, aggregated from the major IDMs, design shops and IP vendors, from 1996 through the present.

 

Tags: business, communications, consumer, numbers, trends

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