fuse project 189 · fuse project 189 led-video display controller. ... sales will enable the...

FUSE Project 189

LED-VIDEO DISPLAY CONTROLLER.FPGA and digital ASIC technologies achieve a cost saving of 40%

Demonstrator Document

SummaryLasertechnik und Elektronik develops, manufactures and distributes several types of large videodisplay systems which are used for different applications, e.g. advertisement, fair presentations orsports events.The company is managed by two engineers and was founded in 1995.

The video product family of L&E covers different types of displays, such as indoor and outdoordisplays. The offered units have screen sizes between 1m² and 90m².

Basic components of these units are coloured light emitting diodes (LEDs) which are combined toimage dots. In the existing solution, a special electronics consisting of standard ICs was used whichwas no longer state-of the-art (high costs, not optimised system structure). For instance, between 80and 960 ICs had to be applied for one display unit.

In order to reach an improved competitive position and to increase the company's market sharein the large video display system market, it was necessary to introduce new microelectronicstechnologies into L&E's business. So the AE was carried out to overcome the know-how andmanagement barriers, which prevented the company to use advanced FPGA and ASIC technologiesbefore.

The technical realisation of the Application Experiment was divided into two steps: a FPGA basedsystem design followed by the implementation of the verified solution into an ASIC. The technicalobjective of the first part was to convert and optimise the standard CMOS logic and to implementthe new design into a FPGA. This was important, because the existing solution was based on aasynchronous principle that had to be changed to a synchronous one in order to be able toimplement the designed system into an ASIC.

Lasertechnik und Elektronik acquired experience in the management of FPGA/ASIC projects andthe use of FPGA design tools and methodologies. The specialists got best practice knowledge in theapplication and test of XILINX components and became familiar with ASIC design methodologiesat logic level and test strategies of complex systems with FPGA and ASICs as well.

The initial barriers to introduce the new technologies were overcome. The result is the improvedvideo display characterised by an essentially improved functionality and performance, which willcause a significant increase of turnover and profit. Additionally, the acquired know-how can be usedto develop new products in the future.

The Application Experiment was started in April 1996 and ran for 18 months, including anextension of 5 months. The total project costs until the prototype stage were 79 k€. The increasedsales will enable the company to recover the FUSE investment in 24 months with an ROI over fiveyears of product life of 170%.

FUSE AE 189, Lasertechnik & Elektronik page 2Demonstrator Document

Keywords

FPGA technologyASIC, digitalXILINX componentsCMOS technologyGate ArrayDisplay unitsVideo presentation, large & publicSmall enterprise

Signature

4 1410 555 0203 3 3162 1 31 D

1. Company name and address

Lasertechnik & Elektronik NeuhäuserPienestraße 20D-39387 Oschersleben

2. Company size

Lasertechnik & Elektronik is a small and independent company with a turnover of about 90 k€ peryear. The company has two employees. Both employees,

- one manager and development engineer and- one development engineer

were involved in the Application Experiment.As a microelectronics application oriented company both colleagues have the qualification to designelectronic devices and systems preferably used for visualisation equipment, such as video displays. Inthe technology sector, experiences in PCB design and related test methodologies were existing.

3. Company business description

The business of Lasertechnik & Elektronik is the development, production and marketing of displaysystems (panels incorporating light emitting diodes - 3162). The company is specialised to developand manufacture customised solutions, because nearly each client has different requirementsregarding size, dots, colours, information to be displayed etc. The manufactured units have beenindoor and outdoor displays for the visualisation of either textual or graphical information.

These displays are used for:• advertisement• business fair presentations


• concerts• sporting events• public information systems• parking guidance systems.

Typical customers of Lasertechnik und Elektronik are:• dealers & distributors• TV & radio stations• advertising agencies• business fair organisers• sports clubs• cinemas• hypermarkets• canteens/ fast food restaurants

In addition to this main activity Lasertechnik und Elektronik imports opto-electronic semi-conductingcomponent parts and sells them on the European market.The company also develops customised PCB layouts, for example multilayer PCBs for conventionaland SMD assembly. For this, all possible methods of electronic data transfer are used to keep theperiod from design to final product to a minimum.Additionally, Lasertechnik and Elektronik is doing with other firms common research work in thefield of 3D projection with a "look around effect". This requires the application of a newly developedtechnique to create a 3D image of moving, computer-generated bodies, where the spectator needsno aids (polarised- or LCD-shutter glasses). The image size is entirely dependent on the power ofthe projector.

4. Company markets and competitive position at the start of the AE

Lasertechnik und Elektronik was founded in spring 1995. In the year before the AE about 450display modules were sold for indoor use and about 240 for outdoor use. The reason for this limitedturnover is two-fold:

- The limited capacity of only two employees- The high effort to develop and to install customised versions

A resulting disadvantage was the relative high price of our units (small batches), especially for themulti-colour versions. Together with the not-optimised system structure (up to 960 single ICcomponents per unit - size!) and the too labour expensive manufacturing a further extension of themarket was impossible.Regarding the 2-colour video displays, the products of our company were competitive regarding theprice and functionality, but had some disadvantages regarding the failure rate. The sales figures for1996 and 1997 reflect this situation. The number of sold units remained on a constant level of about700 units per year.The share of the total company's turnover was about 70%.


According to our own analysis of the LED display market there has been an annual rise of about 2-3% in demand for outdoor use and a 5-6% rise for indoor use. LED-Displays for In-& Outdoor aremanufactured by several companies, like Leurocom, LUMINO, Schauf, Textlite, BUS-Electronic.The technological basis is wide-spread from conventional solutions on PCB basis, up to FPGA andASIC applications.The market in Germany is dominated by these big companies offering video display systems indifferent sizes and colour versions. However, the customers ask more and more for multi-colourversions instead of the introduced 2-colour devices.

The market segment for Lasertechnik und Elektronik is mainly the regional market that could becovered with a market share of about 5 %. The competitive advantage of the company is thecapability to react very fast to the customers needs and to guarantee the necessary maintenanceservices.The tendency to multi-colour versions for the video displays is a factor which would have decreasedthe turnover of the company additionally when offering only the existing product versions. In orderextend the market share going beyond the scope of the only regional market, it is necessary for asmall company to be better in functionality and to be competitive in price when comparing theproducts with those of the market leaders. This was not possible with the old solution and resulted ina real competitive pressure, being the main reason to think about the introduction of newtechnologies.

Without the new product, the sales were expected to decrease significantly, as the following tableillustrates:

Year expected sales withoutimpovements

(in units) 1997 700 1998 500 1999 300 2000 < 200

The overall market is expected to grow in the next years, because the price reduction of the LEDsallows to enter new price segments for video display systems that are interesting for other customergroups, too. We expect the following market development in Germany:

Expectedmarketgrowth

1998 100% (Basis)1999 120%2000 150%2001 180%


In Europe the tendency is similar. However, the number of sold units in South Europe is actuallyhigher than in Germany.

5. Product to be improved and the reason to innovate

The product to be improved is the control unit for Lasertechnik und Elektronik's display units, whichare used for information or advertising. An outdoor display is made up of several display elementseach with 32 x 32 image dots. Several coloured light emitting diodes (LEDs) are combined to forman image dot. These elements can be combined horizontally and vertically to form displays in suchaway that the human eye is not able to detect the border lines. An indoor display is made up ofseveral modules each formed of 16 x 16 image dots. For indoor use, 2- and 3-coloured LED dotmatrix modules are applied.

Prior to the AE this product was manufactured using standard CMOS technology. The problem wasthat the customer requirements normally change from one application to the next, i.e. for each changein the logic, a new PCB had to be designed and produced. Each rejection or modification of acomponent resulted in the complete reworking and testing of the entire electronics and the PCBs.This was the reason for a delay of at least 10 working days in the design and test process for thesingle application.The static RAM memory used was 32 times larger than necessary. After rejecting the static 8K and16KByte RAM the next biggest memory of 32 KByte had to be implemented although theproportion of unused to used memory increased to 127:1. This resulted in an extra energyconsumption for the unused memory cells.

In the following table some characteristics are given for display systems at the full resolution of 640 x480 image dots.

Area Length Height Raster Colour/ Application Brightnessmax. in m in m in mm Dot in Cd/m²

17,9 m² 4,88 3,66 7,62 2 Indoor 25024,9 m² 5,76 4,32 9 3 Indoor 57088,8 m² 10,88 8,16 17 2 Outdoor 3000

122,9 m² 12,80 9,60 20 3 Outdoor 8900

For the control of every 256 dots one PCB was necessary.Every PCB-board contains 14 standard CMOS-ICs and about 180 SMD components for the bi-coloured red-green version. The red-green data are prepared by a PC video card with a digitalgraphic interface. The entire signal processing is carried out digitally. Even the brightness of theLEDs is controlled digitally via pulse width modulation(PWM).

Using this established technology, for an image resolution of 160 x 96 dots more than 12 000 SMDcomponents and standard CMOS ICs were required!

Because of the high number of components it was not possible to fit all the functions onto a singlePCB. We aimed to find an optimal solution for each use.


The functional diagram in picture 1 shows the structure of the control unit in the old technology.

Fig.1: Structure of the existing control unit for video displays

The main units of this control device which was developed and tested in-house are:• the control logic• the reset logic• the gradient controller• the counter.

Summarised, the main features to be improved were:

• High number of components resulting in big PCB size area for the control unit (2 PCBs necessary)

• Inflexibility to adapt the system• Limited capability to process data in real-time (important for video clips)• Limited quality because of restricted number of displayable images and brightness values (no dimmer function)• High price

6. Description of the product improvements

The technical objective of the Experiment was the development of an universal applicable displayunit with reduced size, lower manufacturing costs and better technical parameters. Such a LED videodisplay is composed by a number of individual modules depending on the required complexity. Theprinciple is shown in Figure 1:


Fig.1: Structure of a video display unit

The structure of one single module which was developed within the Application Experiment can beseen in Figure 2.

Fig. 2: Block structure of the new LED module with control unit

The circuit was especially developed for the control of bi- and tri-coloured LEDs. One ASIC cancontrol 256 RGB (red-green-blue) LEDs using a variety of driver components. To reproduce videoclips and computer animation, the ASIC gets in data from the controlling computer in real time.The linear brightness of the LEDs could be further optimised. As a result even a bi-coloured imagerepresentation without blue LEDs can display photos and video images in a considerably improvedquality. The number of displayable images was increased although a lower system clock rate is usednow.


With very little additional expenditure and an additional control pin it is possible to switch from a 4-bit to a 6-bit image representation when controlling bi-coloured LEDs. So 64 different brightnesssettings can be displayed for each colour, and the memory is thus being used optimally.The use of the ASIC allows it now to achieve best quality of image visualisation, reducing the numberof components from 200 to 60 for each display element at the same time! This results in a reductionof assembly costs in the range of 70%.The application of our new LED driver component parts allowed a further reduction of the numberof components to 20 and reduced assembly costs of 90% (Fig. 1). This becomes clear whencomparing the PCB size of the old and the new solution for the control of 256 LEDs: unit:

PCB size old solution: 290 cm², only two PCB solution possiblePCB size new solution: 120 cm², one PCB (for 2-colour version)

160 cm², one PCB (for RGB solution)

The improved PCB solution is shown in figure 3.

Fig. 3: The new PCB solution

The dimmer function to adjust brightness automatically or manually is carried out by the new ASICas well. This dimmer function is of particular importance for outdoor use (e.g. day and nightregulators and to adjust to changing levels of sunlight).

The improved technical parameters based on the ASIC solution can be summarised as follows:


• real-time data processing• linear brightness levels within a newly optimised process of LED controlling• flicker-free images from 100 to about 400 Hz (depending on video controller)• LED multiplex rating 1/8 duty• 4096 colours = 12-bit• dimmer input (4 bit)• a variety of LED Power- drivers directly controllable (e.g. Philips. TI, Toshiba)

Figure 4 contains a picture of the new RED_GREEN_BLUE display itself.

The advantages of this display unit compared to other products on the market are e.g.:

• flicker-free images (including TV broadcasts)• a real "plug and play" solution - even possible without a driver,

in consequence any presentation software can be used without adaptation• easy adjustment to any digital signal source• linear brightness levels for better photo and video reproduction• simple brightness controls without any additional hardware• modular extensions possible (outdoor displays up to 12.8m x 9.6m)

Based on these advantages and the reduced manufacturing costs Lasertechnik und Elektronik is nowable to offer a competitive state-of-the-art product on the market which will result in an increasedturnover and extended market share. It is at the same time the basis for a growth of the company inthe next years.

7. Choices and rationale for the selected technologies and methodologies


In a comparative survey of the different technologies available on the market (microcontroller, DSP,PLD, FPGA, ASIC) we came to the conclusion that µC and DSP contain functional elements orblocks that are not necessary to implement the necessary features into the product. The result wouldhave been an unnecessary, unused overhead. On the other side the image representation in real-timeand the execution of special commands requires more than one clock cycle and high frequencies.Therefore, it would have been necessary to implement a much more powerful processor with highclock rates to feed in data in real time at 25 MHz. It is a feature which, to a large extent, affects theprice of an MC or DSP and makes this solution unattractive. On the other side the problem to besolved is from its nature more Boolean than algorithmic. This results in the decision for a more “gate-level” based design instead of software.

A medium-term implementation of simple programmable logic components, for instance, PLD, GALor ISP devices would be more realistic. The economic advantages of this technology, however,would not be significant, because the entire schematic design must be subdivided (partitioned) inseveral logic components, what means additional effort. The problem of the over-sized memory stillexists, as it is not possible to integrate memory into these technologies. So this technology seemednot to be the best suited one.

In contrast, CPLD or FPGA families offer a wide range of possible gate counts which allow theoptimal implementation of all necessary functional elements. In this way, a component can beproduced with a minimum of overheads. A design at this level is still very flexible and can bemodified without big problems what is very convenient for first prototype evaluation. Therefore, thefirst part of the project was a FPGA solution with a XILINX FPGA.Later on, it was converted into an ASIC, because a solution using FPGAs for mass productionwould have been more expensive than the old product.

Further reasons were:• higher reliability of the system• reduced manufacturing and test times for the video display• considerable reduction in size• improved EMC qualities through increased integration• reduction of power consumption• higher system clock

For the FPGA prototype, a XILINX FPGA XC4005 was used. We decided to use XILINXbecause they offer market introduced products with optimal technical and price features which willbe delivered also in the next years. Additionally, the support from the manufacturer is very good, andthe design tools are easy to handle.

The design work was made at gate level with schematic entry. In discussions with the subcontractorwe decided not to use a VHDL description, because the structure of the system would have notjustified an effective application. For the design, 95% of available CLBs were necessary.

This intermediate step had two main advantages for Lasertechnik und Elektronik: the minimisation ofthe design risk and the acquirement of the necessary know-how to do also FPGA based designs inthe future. This is very important, because not for all developments in the future an ASIC will be the


best economic solution. On the other side, the design process is similar and the simulated design canbe used for both technologies.

The schematic entry and simulation task were performed with the FOUNDATION system. Thissystem offers an excellent price-performance ratio and good handling features. Furthermore, thedesigner can develop also on system level with VHDL (if necessary in next developments). Being aPC based design tool, it can be purchased also by a small company (in opposite to expensiveworkstation tools).

For the migration to an ASIC Mentor tools were used which were available at the subcontractor'ssite. In opposite to the other project tasks, Lasertechnik was only involved on a consultancy basis inorder to understand the methodology and the requirements of an ASIC design. This is necessary tocontact and to co-operate with design houses in the future.

The design was simulated and tested with the FPGA. Afterwards it was mapped to the gate arraylibrary of the ZMD Dresden selected as silicon foundry. After back-annotation simulation and adesign review with the subcontractor it was produced in a 0,8 µm CMOS gate array technology.This technology meets all requirements of the design.

At the end of the project the ASIC based control unit was functional tested and a complete videodisplay was built with these units. A final field test demonstrated the correctness of the design and theASIC realisation.

8. Expertise and experience of the company

As already stated, Lasertechnik & Elektronik is a small, microelectronics application orientedcompany with 2 employees, both involved in all steps of the Application Experiment.Having the need to do all developments from the first system design to its final realisation themselves,they have a wide range of experience in

• digital logic design with standard CMOS logic• internal computer-bus structures and their link-up to customised systems• constructing cable-linked, multi-channel customised bus systems• glass-fibre bus systems and optical video links• constructing LED display systems with multiplex and static controls• processing signals from conventional and new video standards• cordless power and data transfer in rotating systems and devices.

From the technological point of view, knowledge in

• the development and layout of multilayer PCBs• manufacturing and testing prototype PCBs

was existing.


A FPGA or ASIC design was never done before in the company. Therefore, experiences in

• the design of programmable logic (e.g. GAL/PAL, PLD/CPLD, FPGA)• synchronous design methodologies for a FPGA or ASIC• handling the development software• the simulation and test methods for such systems

were not available.

There was an additional lack of expertise: It was unknown for the company how to manage thiskind of task. Therefore, a detailed project management training was required, focussed at FPGA andASIC projects with the main topics project planning, workplan definition, economic calculation,selection of tools, interfaces to a subcontractor and internal project control issues.

9. Workplan and rationale

Together with the TTN (and subcontractor) a workplan was made for the project and thecollaboration between FU and subcontractor.

This project plan was divided in the following tasks:

Task 1 "Management" covers the technical and project management, such as the contacts to theTTN, reporting and dissemination activities, but also the managing and economic aspects of atechnology selection (setup of workplans, economic forecast etc).

Task 2 "Training" includes the introduction training courses to Technical management, principlesof FPGA and ASIC based digital design (synchronous approach!), handling of tools and teststrategies.

Task 3 "System specification" includes the determination of parameters and resources of the newproduct, the basic structure, the selection of components, manufacturers and tools. It also coversplanning of test, diagnosis and simulation strategies.

Task 4 "Design" comprises all design and simulation activities for the FPGA and itsimplementation into the component. Later on, the migration of the design to the ASIC realisation andthe simulation were covered by this task.

Task 5 "Manufacturing, evaluation and test" contains the FPGA test (including the PCBprototype manufacturing), the ASIC design, the construction of the prototype and a field test.

This workplan was implemented in two phases: In the first phase of the project the existing logic wasconverted into a FPGA using suitable design tools (XILINX FPGA XC-4005E were used). Byusing the programmable logic-chip it was possible to simulate and test the new product in anoptimum way.In the second phase the FPGA was converted into a digital ASIC in 0.8µm technology with about5000 logic gates.

The original workplan and its final realisation is shown in the next diagram:


APPLICATION EXPERIMENT WORK-PLANActivities Month

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Task 1: ManagementProject management, dissemination,reporting

Task 2:

Training

Management training

Digital design methodologies forFPGA and ASIC, introduction to thetoolsTest methodologies (FPGA, ASIC)

Task 3:

Specification

Funct. spec. of system

Spec. of components

Main structure of system and ub-blocks Task 4:

Design

FPGA related design activities

ASIC related design activities

Task 5:

Manufacturing & test

ASIC Production

FPGA prototype test

ASIC test

Field Testing

Planned execution Realised project progress

During the preparation phase of the Application Experiment and within the specification tasks whichincluded also the final choice for design methodology and ASIC manufacturer, a risk assessment anda contingency planning was made together with the subcontractor and the TTN. The result was the


additional intermediate FPGA step in the design flow. This allowed to check the FPGA basedhardware under real conditions which guarantees the functional and electrical correctness of thedesign much more reliable than only a -even very detailed -simulation can do. For the FPGA designseveral iteration cycles for test and logical modifications were planned.The implementation of the FPGA design into the ASIC was made using the tested component libraryof the manufacturer, the subcontractor had the necessary design experiences. From this side, a riskcould be excluded.In a common specification review between First User, subcontractor, the TTN and the ASIC fab allelectrical requirements and the structure of the design were checked against the parameters of thetechnology. It was a common result of these discussions that there should be no technological risk.For the case of still existing logical errors, a second MPW run was scheduled, which was fortunatelynot necessary at the end.

However, the table shows some deviations between planning and project realisation. An extension of5 months became necessary because, while testing the FPGA prototypes, errors occurred whencomparing the FPGA behaviour with the simulation results. The reasons were timing problems for thememory control of the implemented storage.Two independent clocks were used, an oscillator clock and the external clock to read in the actualinput data. The result was a kind of asynchronous behaviour. To solve the synchronisation problem,an additional modification of the input logic was necessary.

The problem was, that this error was only recognised after the conversion of the FPGA to the ASICdesign when evaluating the results of the back-annotation simulation, i.e. the simulation which takesinto consideration also all timing influences of the gate wiring.Normally, this error should have been detected already when testing the FPGA prototype, but theFPGA worked correctly. The reason was, that the memory access time in the ASIC was muchfaster than in the FPGA because of the optimised structure of the design (in opposite to the FPGAsolution). The consequence were the timing problems mentioned above. A new iteration becamenecessary as can be seen in the chart.

The resulting delay was three months, because we missed as a consequence of the iteration ourplanned MPW run. Of course the planned effort for design and test was now higher than plannedbefore.The additional delay of 2 months resulted from typical problems of a small company: You cannotwork only on one project. Unforeseen businesses, illness or other circumstances prevent you from acontinuous work as ideally planned before. In next projects Lasertechnik and Elektronik will plancorresponding "buffer times".

In months 14 to 16 the prototypes were manufactured using an MPW run. This period could not beused to optimise the work and to shorten the overall project time. We had simply to wait for theASICs.

The amount of work carried out by the FU and the subcontractor where within the planned limitsplus some additional effort for the iteration cycle we did. This had consequences for the design task.Table 1 shows the details (all information in "person-days"):


Task First User Subcontractor TotalsRole Effort

planEffortreal

Costplan(k€)

Costreal(k€)

Role Costplan (k€)

Costreal(k€)

PlanReal

Management Responsible 24 28 3,84 4,48 Assistance 1,8 1,8 5,64 6,28Training Participant 26 26 4,16 4,16 Responsible 7,2 7,2 11,36 11,36Specification Responsible 32 34 5,12 5,44 Assistance 4,8 4,8 9,92 10,24Design Responsible 72 77 11,52 12,32 Assistance,

layoutgeneration

13,2 13,2 24,72 25,52

Evaluation Responsible 22 22 3,52 3,52 Assistance 12,0 12,0 15,52 15,52Totals 176 187 28,16 29,92 39,0 39,0 67,16 68,92

Table 1: Division of work

The project was carried out in all tasks in close co-operation between First User and subcontractor.The subcontractor was mainly responsible for the training activities. The specification and the FPGAdesign and test was done by Lasertechnik und Elektronik assisted by the subcontractor whenevernecessary. Later on, the subcontractor was responsible for the ASIC layout. The First User tookpart on in this step in order to get an overview knowledge.The detailed partitioning of work is as follows:

Task Lasertechnik und Elektronik Subcontractor

Management Project related management Contacts to foundry

Training Participation in training courses Management training FPGA and ASIC design

Test methodologies

Specification Function related specification Assistance in technology Technology and component spec. related tasks

Specification review

Design FPGA design and simulation Design assistance with de-Set-up of simulation test patterns creasing tendency

Getting overview in ASIC design, Migration to ASIC layoutsimulation, test and layout generationprinciples

Design review

Test and evaluation FPGA and ASIC test (PCB based) AssistanceField test (product oriented)


10. Subcontractor information

As described above, Lasertechnik und Elektronik is a strongly product-oriented company withtechnology know-how in all kinds of PCB technology and analogue/digital design, based on discretecomponents. There were no experiences in FPGA and ASIC technologies, neither from themanagement, nor from the technical point of view.

Our intention in the Application Experiment was to learn how to manage such a project and tobecome familiar with FPGA and ASIC design methodologies. Furthermore, we were interested togain experience in test methodologies for both components. The objective was to be able to designFPGAs ourselves in the future and to become a qualified partner for a design house when discussingabout ASIC realisations. We did not want to become ASIC designers in all design steps at all.However, we wanted to be able to manage such a process from the first ideas up to the product test.That’s why we were looking for a subcontractor with the following competencies:

• experiences in training activities for FPGA and ASIC design management and methodology

• know-how in “Learning-by-doing-methodologies” for this kind of work• long-time experiences in co-operation with FPGA and ASIC customers• know-how and references in FPGA and ASIC design and simulation• references concerning good relations to ASIC manufacturers (not only to one of

them)• application-oriented technology know-how (how to implement and to test such a

component in the final product)

Starting from this selection criteria, GEMAC was chosen as subcontractor. The company isa SME with 60 employees, and has specialists which are experienced in all kinds of application-oriented design of customer-specific electronics applying these technologies.

The company GEMAC fulfils all criteria mentioned above and has all necessary state-of-the-artdesign tools available. For the FPGA design, the Foundation system was used, in the field of ASICdesign, the complete design flow was supported by Mentor Graphics tools. Additionally, thereexisted already long-time contacts to the ASIC manufacturers, also to ZMD which was finallyselected.

Very advantageous for us was GEMAC’s existing experience in the application-oriented design ofASICs together with customers as we are. The training activities and the subsequent designassistance were based on the long-time-know-how of the specialists of this company, and weretherefore very efficient.

The main reason to select this subcontractor was that he can offer both training and application-oriented experiences. Other possible partners had either only training experiences or design know-how without co-operation references as we needed.

The subcontractor was very flexible in his work. Depending on the actual requirements, problemsand project situation, a very dynamic style of co-operation was possible.


The responsibilities and the division of work changed over the project time. In the first trainingactivities, we had to learn and GEMAC was responsible for the know-how transferred.Starting with the “Learning-by-Doing steps, the situation changed. The work was now characterisedby a kind of “decreasing assistance” (which was given, whenever needed). Later on, GEMAC wasagain responsible for the layout generation of the ASIC (we did not want to become ASICdesigners).

The contract signed between the subcontractor and Lasertechnik und Elektronik covered all issuesof the know-how transfer and all details related to ASIC design and manufacturing. Especially, thefollowing items were defined:

• Details and duration of the training courses (Technical Management, FPGA and digital ASIC design, design tools, test strategies)• Details of design assistance (Learning-by-doing), duties and responsibilities according to the table given above• Layout generation and simulation, release of design for manufacturing• Project schedule and tool licences• Support in the negotiations with the foundry ZMD

The negotiations with the silicon foundry were made together with the subcontractor. Because it wasour first ASIC design, this co-operation was very helpful for us. We learned which issues have to beasked for, to select and evaluate libraries and to negotiate the ASIC preparation itself (prices, testconditions, definition of realistic schedules and deadlines etc.). Without the assistance of thesubcontractor this would not have been possible

Lasertechnik und Elektronik owns both the FPGA and ASIC solution and the implementedprinciples. The subcontractor as well as the silicon foundry have no commercial or other rights touse the technical results of the Application Experiment.Penalty clauses going beyond the scope of the common terms of business were not included in thecontract.

One additional reason for the selection of the subcontractor was that GEMAC as a developmentand manufacturing-oriented partner of Lasertechnik and Elektronik will be able to give directassistance in any future projects. This will be very effective not only because of all the technicalcompetencies. As a result of the Application Experiment the subcontractor is already familiar with thetechnical problems of the company. This will allow an effective information flow and optimal projectwork.

The detailed division of work and the effort was already described in the last section. It was a realco-operation between the two partners.


11. Barriers perceived by the company The staff of Lasertechnik und Elektronik, including the manager, are engineers, no economists. That’swhy the company had no psychological barriers to introduce microelectronics. The First Userdeveloped and applied PCB based elecctronic system solutions before. There company had otherimportant barriers, e.g. in the area of management and in the technical realisation itself.

For instance there was no idea about the necessary effort for the introduction of FPGA and digitalASIC technology. From the management point of view, the company had the following barriers: •How to start such a project Without knowledge it is difficult to define a realistic workplan and to estimate the costs of theproject. In discussions before the start of the AE it was assumed that the costs would exceed thepossibilities Lasertechnik und Elektronik. On the other side, a survival was only possible whenapplying the new technologies.

The necessary manpower for "theoretical" training courses of engineers followed by a project workthat is based only on the results of such a training course is very high. Additionally, such amethodology increases the design risk. This was an important start-up barrier. Another problem was the division between activities to be done in-house next time and those to beout-sourced for next projects.

• Selection of partners For the management issues as well as the knowledge transfer activities in all tasks Lasertechnik undElektronik needed an experienced partner who was not only interested in the execution of acomplete development, but also to organise an effective training. Because the know-how transfer willmake next orders obsolete (we are able to do next projects ourselves - at least in the FPGA sector),it is not easy to find somebody who combines its technical expertise with the know-how transfer.Additionally, it is risky to go to a design house or distributor who has relations only to one ASICmanufacturer.

• Necessary tool and component basis If you want to start a development you have to select the optimal component basis and FPGA/ASICtechnology for the project realisation. The missing technology knowledge made such a decisionimpossible without external assistance. The same situation applied for the software tools to be used.The risk to make a wrong decision was very high. • Specification of product featuresIn order to use all advantages of a FPGA or ASIC technology it is necessary to know all technicalfeatures they offer. The lacking know-how in this field was a real barrier to specify the system.

• Design and test barriersOf course the missing experience to handle the tools and the lacking knowledge in design and testmethodologies prevents the technical realisation of a project without continuous assistance by anexternal partner.


• Financial barriers Altogether resulted in a high financial barrier. There was a risk to spend much money for trainingactivities, a wrong technology, and a lot of manpower for a development without the guarantee tohave an improved and competitive product at the end.

All these barriers made it impossible to start a new development before, even if the company knewabout features to be improved and the deteriorating competitive position on the market with the oldunits.

12. Steps to overcome the barriers

The way to overcome the barriers which were explained in the last section was closely combinedwith the project work within the Application Experiment.

•How to start such a projectWhen preparing the submission, Lasertechnik und Elektronik had several discussions with the TTNregarding new innovative microelectronics technologies, especially concerning:

• technical and functional capabilities of FPGA and ASIC applications• overview of possible FPGA types and ASIC technologies and available design tools• typical design and test flows• realistic definition of workplan, costs, duration of the project

Furthermore, a kind of "feasibility study" for the project ideas was discussed.The result was the submission that was based on feasible technical and functional issues. It containedrealistic estimations concerning workplan and costs, and a first calculation of the return-on-investment. This demonstrated very clearly the commercial advantage resulting from the introductionof microelectronics and convinced Lasertechnik und Elektronik that the company really wouldbenefit from the introduction of the new technologies.In this way, the initial start barrier (and the related psychological one) was overcome.

Selection of partnersWhen writing the submission, possible subcontractors were discussed with the TTN. In this time,Lasertechnik und Elektronik learnt to define the selection criteria for a co-operation. Next time, thecompany can search and select possible partners and negotiate with them. The company is nowfamiliar with all topics related to interface problems, price negotiations and the schedules/division ofwork. This was also an important issue of the technical management training.

Furthermore, between the TTN and the First User possible strategies for an assessment of thesubcontractor’s work were discussed. The main instrument to do that is a kind of agreementbetween the partners that specifies all technical functions and parameters of the development. Allduties and responsibilities must be clearly defined. This document has to be added to the formalcontract.Within the training courses, the division of work between the partners was discussed. All thoseactivities should be subcontracted in the future, that cannot be effectively replicated within the


company (for instance no continuous practice possible, e.g. the layout generation of the ASIC) andsuch tasks that exceed the capabilities of the company (e.g. PCB manufacturing).

• Necessary tool and component basisThe discussions with the TTN and later on with the subcontractor gave an overview of availablestate-of-the-art tools. The subcontractor, as an independent design house, discussed all possiblechoices taking into consideration the special situation and requirements of the company. One resultwas the selection of the FPGA Foundation system which can be purchased as a PC based designwithout problems in the future. The test of the tools at the subcontractor’s site gave Lasertechnik undElektronik the possibility to make the buying decision on a qualified basis. This overcame a strongbarrier: the fear to make a wrong investment.

• Specification of product featuresWithin the training, detailed knowledge in the technical features of FPGAs and ASICs weretransferred. Based on this knowledge, the complete functional description of the system and theblock structure of the hardware (including type and technology specification) were defined togetherwith the subcontractor. Within this process the technical capabilities of the technology and thefunctional objectives of the project were harmonised. This removed the initial barriers for theirapplication.

• Design and test barriersThe knowledge transfer in the tasks design and test for FPGA and ASIC technology was the mainpart of the AE. All necessary knowledge was transferred. Very useful was the application-oriented"Learning-by-Doing" methodology, because the First user did the job, assisted by the subcontractorwith a decreasing tendency along the project. In such a way, know-how barriers in design and testtechnologies were overcome.

• Financial barriersThe market investigation and the management discussions with the TTN resulted in a remarkablereturn-on-investment forecast for the large video display system that will enable CTI to financesimilar problems in the future.

13. Knowledge and experience acquired

Within the AE, Lasertechnik und Elektronik acquired the following knowledge and experiences:

• Technical management of projects using microelectronics This point covers for instance the selection of appropriate technologies and components for agiven project, the definition of realistic functions and objectives, definition of interfaces topartners including their selection, set-up of workplans and financial breakdowns, investigationsto evaluate the own position and competitiveness on the market and the ability to makerealistic financial forecasts for new products.

• Design, test and product oriented application of FPGAsLasertechnik und Elektronik is now able to specify FPGA projects and to work withoutessential assistance (sometimes a question should be allowed) with the corresponding


development tools. The company has now best practice experiences in design and testmethodologies using FPGAs, especially those from the XILINX family. In detail, this concernsthe following points:

• internal structure of FPGA• correct choice of FPGA types• design of optimised logic structures• synchronous design methodologies• digital simulation methods

• generation of test patterns• conversion of designs & production of bit stream files for download

• construction of test PCBs to download with XILINX X-checker cable and boot-PROM

• ASIC design and manufacturing experiencesThis point contains the ability to design digital systems which can be implemented withoutproblems into an ASIC. This also includes an extended knowledge in synchronous systemdesign (asynchronous design should not be done anymore). Last not least, the definition ofpowerful test sequences with high fault coverage rates should be mentioned.As already discussed, the objective was not to become a layout designer. However, an "toplevel" knowledge is useful for communication with the design house, but also for the designprocess at logic level.From the management point of view, we are now able to negotiate and interact with designhouses and silicon foundries.

• Test strategies for all levels of a development Lasertechnik und Elektronik is now able to check the results against the specification of a project. The company is now familiar with test methods for FPGA and ASIC based designs as well. This also concerns the field test.

The necessary effort can be seen in the workplan. Basic knowledge was transferred in the trainingcourses. They were very short (only a few days). The most important and effective methodology wasthe „Learning-by-Doing“ project work assisted by the subcontractor. The first days in each task wasreal common work (the subcontractor was present and assisted the work directly).

In the second period (at least for the FPGA design) the work was executed alone with the possibilityto use a "telephone hotline" at any time. If problems raised, meetings were organised from one day tothe other. At the end of each project task a common review of the results was organised.

14. Lessons learned

Some main rules for potential replicants are summarised once more:


• Project ideas and ways to realise them should be discussed before the start of the project with acompetent and independent partner. The result should contain the proof of feasibility, a roughspecification and ideally the component types to be used. A workplan and a financial breakdownshould be set up. A market survey and a financial forecast is mandatory.

• Start your marketing activities as soon as possible in order to get a precise market overview.Additional modifications of the specification might be necessary. On the other side, you can sell theproducts faster if the needs of the customers are really clear.

• Don’t plan only the real project time, include an additional time buffer time. Just a small companyhas always problems with other, unforeseen businesses. But also technical problems (such asadditional iterations) may cause a delay. Set up a contingency plan.

• The new product with all improved features described above enables the company to offer now areal competitive product. This allowed to address new markets in Europe. We learned, that even avery small company has good chances on the market, if the technical parameters and the price of theproduct are convincing.

• Avoid the classic way of know-how transfer with a theoretical training course followed by own"trial-and-error" activities in the company. Use "training-on-the-project" and try to find anexperienced subcontractor for both training and design assistance. Doing that, an effectivecombination of training and design work is guaranteed.

• When selecting design tools and components, ask for existing documentation and online support.Make sure that components will be available during the whole life-time of your product on themarket.

• Don’t forget the later industrialisation. May be, the subcontractor has also a manufacturingdepartment? In this case you won’t have problems. Industrialisation and marketing costs should notbe forgotten. Sometimes, they might require the same amount of money as the development of yourproduct prototype.

• Experienced digital designers on the basis of discrete components tend always to asynchronousdesigns. This is very problematic for FPGAs and ASICs. Design only synchronous structures (anasynchronous clock hierarchy was the reason for additional iteration cycles in or design)! This rule isnot easy to follow. It took us a long time to produce the synchronous design. This was partly due tothe new approach necessary and because additional problems arose with the real-time processing.These problems were solved with the help of specific training programmes with the subcontractor.

• There were also difficulties arising from the distance to our partner TTN. Consultations and traininghad to be planned in advance. Normally, an overnight stay in Chemnitz (or vice versa) wasnecessary. This additional time effort when selecting a partner not directly located in your townshould not be forgotten. However, it is more effective to invest in some trips to a real good co-operation partner than to fail with an incompetent one in your neighbourhood.


• The Foundation system can be used without problems even for a First User. It offers all necessaryfeatures, is well supported and has as a PC based tool a reasonable price (about 3.000 €)

• An ASIC design makes only sense only if the future product is a product with at least the need ofsome thousand ASICs. For a limited production volume or the need to modify the system, it makessense to go for programmable logic solutions (e.g. FPGA, CPLD).

• Further advantages were gained through the possibility to upgrade the FPGA solution withoutchanges in the PCB. The know-how acquired via the FUSE AE will help the First User in the futureuse of programmable logic.

15. Resulting product, its industrialisation and internal replication

The result of the Application Experiment is a working prototype which completely matches thespecification. Lasertechnik and Elektronik owns the product. The subcontractors have no rights on it,their role was restricted to the assistance in the know-how transfer and development process.

The marketing activities for the new video displays were started as soon as possible. Already whenpreparing the submission we got some feedback from potential customers which influenced our finalspecification.

Immediately after the completion of the AE, the next industrialisation steps were discussed with thesubcontractor. We will contact him also in the future if problems or questions should arise.

Fortunately, no essential changes of the prototype were necessary for industrialisation. Except someminor changes of the PCB design, the PCB prototype could be used directly for the marketintroduction. Of course it took us some additional time to construct the final mechanical housing ofthe units.Additional effort was necessary for advertising and marketing of the product. We presented it atregional fairs, but also at the CeBIT. Marketing is going to be extended through national andinternational distributors. In response to our product placement in the internet on our homepage wehave had already enquiries from a number of European countries.

The product was introduced to the market as planned before 6 months after the end of theApplication Experiment. The necessary effort, the tasks still to be realised and the costs aresummarised in the following table:


Task Months (relative to AEend)

Effort Total Costs (incl.material, third party)

Additional prototypefield test at thecustomer

months 1 - 3 10 persondays

PCB redesign andmanufacturing

month 4 + 5 5 persondays

Mechanicalconstruction &manufacturing

month 6 5 persondays

18 k€

Advertising beforemarket introduction

continuous within the 6months

30 persondays 10 k€

Total 28 k€

A local firm is responsible for CNC production of stainless steel housings. For the production andtesting of PCBs, our existing subcontractor is responsible. The assembly, final test and installation ofthe video displays is made in-house.

On the basis of the acquired FPGA and ASIC know-how we are now very optimistic whenregarding the future of the large video display units, but also the company's business at all. Theapplication of advanced technologies helps a small company to survive and to extend the marketshare.

In the meantime, projects were started which require a replication of the acquired know-how:

• LED based systems for traffic regulation (in collaboration with another partner)Based on the achieved development results, the company has applied for a general

certification of LED traffic regulation systems in Germany and had already successful audits in other countries

• Energy-efficient large display systems with a reflecting rather than a no luminous matrix

For these applications, a possible new ASIC concept was discussed. Additionally, we intend tointroduce the ISP family from the XILINX series 9500. These logic components will be used tobuild up an universal interface and will replicate the acquired FPGA design know-how. This willallow to apply power-driver components of different manufacturers, i.e. we will be able to select(depending on the application) the best LED dot-matrix modules.


16. Economic impact and improvement in competitive position

The introduction of ASIC technology is an absolute high qualitative improvement for a large videodisplay system. Compared to our old and to other products offered on the market, the modifiedproduct will allow a better sale because of

• Higher reliability and a better price - to - performance - relation of the productThis shows the comparison of the direct material costs between the old and the AEsolution:The ASIC reduces the number of components from 200 to 60 for each display element .This resulted in a smaller PCB size for the new product and of course in reducedmanufacturing and test costs of about 40%. In detail, the cost savings for the control unitare as follows:

Cost old control unit (components, assembly, test): 23,00 €New control unit with ASIC (components, assembly, test): 14,00 €

Additional savings are resulting from the LED matrix module that could be modified basedon the new solution of the control unit.

From the technical point of view, the system offers• flicker-free images (including TV broadcasts)• a real "plug and play" solution - even possible without a driver,

in consequence any presentation software can be used without adaptation• easy adjustment to any digital signal source• linear brightness levels for better photo and video reproduction• simple brightness controls without any additional hardware• modular extensions possible (outdoor displays up to 12.8m x 9.6m)

With the new product it is possible to produce a series-product and to respond, nevertheless,flexible on almost all customer requirements. The new product is essential more reliable andguarantees through the assorted technology a high quality.The acquired knowledge about the new technology, forms the basis for effective developments ofnew products.

In order to improve the competitive situation, the economic benefits of the new, ASIC based solutionwere split into a lower price and additional profit (that had partly to be spent for further developmentcosts to increase functionality, e.g. for modification of the driver units).

The following diagram shows the realised and expected sales figures for the new control units. Pleasenote that the old solution has been completely substituted by the new one. However, the diagramalso describes the lost of market shares in case of not doing the Application Experiment.


01000

2000300040005000

Year

Sales Forecast

Without FUSEWith FUSE

Corresponding to these figures, the following increase of profitability is expected:

Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002Increased Profitability (€) 18.000 35.000 45.000 55.000 60.000

The figures summarise the indoor as well as the outdoor version of the video display.

This results in a payback period of about 24 months for the FUSE investment and a Return-on-Investment of over five years of product life of 170%.

The figures in 1998 represent the market introduction curve. It was necessary to make thecertification of the product and to industrialise it (see there) which caused a delay of the marketintroduction. The first product was sold in April 1998.It is expected, that especially in the years 1999 and 2000 a higher percentage of high-class displayswill be sold, resulting from the decreasing LED prices on the market. In 1998, the increase in salesfigures mainly resulted from the lower priced units in the product family.

The life-cycle of the product will be at least 15 years. The final annual number of manufactureddisplays will be about 6000 units. This figure will be reached in 2003.

The development of Lasertechnik’s market share will be as follows:

Year Market share in Germany Market share in Europe1997 (old product) 5% 0%1998 8% 0%1999 15% 1%2000 20% 2%


17. Target audience for disseminationThere are many companies in the region East-Germany with a similar background like this First User:Young enterprises, working in special "niche" markets, and due to the history of their staff, with acertain level of knowledge in microelectronics. They are aware of the benefits of such technologiesbut have not the right contacts to potential service suppliers and design houses/ foundries, and inmany cases they have a high financial barrier, too. The latter one is hard to overcome (and hassomething to do with political decisions), but demonstrating the experiences ofLasertechnik&Elektronik, they could be convinced to go the same way of integrating their digitalelectronic into an ASIC.So this experiment has benefits for several companies, irrespective of the industrial target sector.Also the design methodologies and test strategies are similar in all cases. The first user itself is willingto support the activities of the TTN consortium.

Best practice aspects which should be disseminated to other very small companies cover thefollowing issues:

• Management of digital ASIC designs, especially the kind of co-operation and division ofwork between subcontractors and First User of this technology, set-up of workplans andcost estimations

• Internal project planning: Best approach to combine the daily business with the very time-consuming ASIC development

• FPGA design methodology and migration strategies FPGA-ASIC • Design methodology at top level (specification of digital modules, evaluation of existing

library elements) • Simulation and test strategies for such a kind of design

Thus the typical target audience are companies with a product on the market, with discretetechnologies (digital standard components), who need to improve the product using innovative ASICtechnology in order to stay competitive. They have the same barriers in management and projectwork and can therefore benefit from our experiences.

That’s why the Application Experiment will be a good example for management as well as technicaltraining in the field of ASIC design.

From the application point of view, the information should be disseminated especially to companiesmanufacturing any kind of integrated electronic controllers. Especially for companies from theindustry sectors

• television and video equipment (3230)• electric Equipment (3100)• Industrial process control (3330)

can directly benefit from our application oriented experiences.


Possible approaches for dissemination are:

• Companies with the same culture and size• Small companies which are managed more from the technical point of view (manager

is engineer)• Companies with the same technology level in-house (design of analogue and digital

systems using discrete components) and the same technology step• Companies in East Germany (to allow direct information exchange)

A replication within Europe should be also possible for the same target groups as described above.The ASIC introduction is will be more and more necessary also for small companies in order tosurvive. On the other side, just these firms have a lot of barriers as we had. The experiences wemade are useful for them. That’s why this AE has a good added value for the FUSE portfolio.

fuse project 189 · fuse project 189 led-video display controller. ... sales will enable the...

Documents