Personnel

FICs - Prof. Wing-Hung Ki and Prof. Patrick C. Yue

Description

We propose to set up an IP platform to support the IC industry in the Pearl River Delta. Many fab-less IC design houses in this region are small and have limited R&D capability. An IP platform with a diverse collection of IP blocks in a popular technology of 0.18um could provide them with affordable designs so that they could focus on developing products that suit their market needs. In particular, analog and mixed-signal IPs are of high demand since most of the design houses do not have the expertise to develop their own IPs. HKUST has a strong team of researchers working in analog and mixed signal ICs including RF ICs, power management ICs, data converters, CMOS image sensors, etc. We have taped out over 200 MPW runs. These innovative circuits have been proven functional with high performance. However, they were prototyped for research testing only. In this ITF project, we target at converting 20-30 selective designs into IP blocks that could be used directly by the IC industry. In collaborating with HKSTP, the commercially-proven IPs will be put into HKSTP’s Secure IP Chamber where local and PRD companies are able to securely access the hard and soft IP hosted in the Chamber. Through the Chamber companies are able to verify and incorporate the developed IP blocks into their products. This project fortifies Hong Kong’s position in IP protection, and as a result, R&D cost and risk of companies can be significantly lowered.

Source: RGC | ITF