Design in reliability for communication designs

Silicon design implementation has become increasingly complex with the deep submicron technologies such as 90nm and below. It is common to see multiple processor cores, several types of memories, I/Os, complex analog circuits and synthesized logic on the same chip. Sophisticated IP integration techniques are needed in order to realize today's complex systems-on-chip (SoC). Also, with the explosive growth in the communications semiconductor market, ensuring product reliability to meet reliability goals and achieve good yield is of significant concern. This paper is intended to bring the inherent challenges in the reliability domain and some of the effective techniques currently used in the EDA world to meet these challenges. We also discuss the need for developing new methods to address the upcoming challenges in ultra-deep submicron design environment.