Mixed signal design watermarking for IP protection

It has become apparent that a means of protecting physical design intellectual property (IP) is necessary in the global IP block commerce market. IP design is a costly enterprise, making block theft a lucrative trade. This work builds on previous analog watermarking research, extending the methodology into the mixed signal realm with a modification of the analog technique, and the addition of a compatible digital watermarking scheme. Results of analysis and testing on a small digital design-a priority decoder-is presented. The next step is integration of this technique into a full implementation of the automated mixed signal watermarking software.