Power analysis approach and its application to IP-based SoC design

Abstract

Purpose Low-power consumption has become an important issue that cannot be ignored in System-on-Chip (SoC) design. The key challenge encountered by system design is how to maintain balance between the estimation accuracy and speed. This paper aims at demonstrating an accurate and fast power estimation technique. Design/methodology/approach The methodology adopted in the paper is to use input patterns with the predefined statistical characteristics which helps to analyze the average power consumption of the different intellectual-property (IP) cores and the interconnects/buses in SoC design. Similarly the paper has implemented Genetic algorithm (GA) to generate sequences of input signals during the power estimation procedure. Findings The GA concurrently optimizes the input signal characteristics that influence the final solution of the pattern. In addition to that, a Monte-Carlo zero-delay simulation is also performed for individual IP core and bus at high-level. By the simple addition of these cores/buses, power is predicted by a novel macro-model function. In experiments, the average error is estimated at 13.84%. Research limitations/implications To present the research findings with clarity and to avoid complexities, the paper does not consider delay factors like glitches, jitter etc. in the power model. Practical implications The proposed methodology allowed accurate power/energy analysis of practical applications mapped onto Network-on-Chip (NoC) based Multiprocessors SoC platform. It enables the performance analysis of different design alternatives under the load imposed by complex applications. Originality/value This paper is an original contribution and the results demonstrate that our novel technique could be implemented to achieve fast and accurate power estimation in the early stage of any SoC design.