An IP core is a licensed electronic circuit block used to rapidly implement unique logic components and chip designs. Companies receive everything needed to design, test, and use the core in their product. Some companies build their business around designing and licensing core IPs. An example is the PowerPC® processor.
An IP core is a complex functional block of electronic circuitry, the use of which is licensed to other companies by the original designer. It is generally a part of a complete processor or other highly complex integrated circuit. The design has generally been demonstrated in a fully tested product before it is licensed. IP cores are used by electronics engineers to rapidly implement unique logic components and chip designs. A memory controller, three-dimensional graphics unit, or even an entire processor can be an IP core.
When a business purchases a license for an IP core, it typically receives everything needed to design, test, and use that core in its product. The basic design is often provided in a hardware description language, analogous to a computer software program. Logic and test schematics as well as signal specifications can also be provided. All necessary software is usually included, as well as design notes and documentation on known bugs.
Rights purchased with an IP core often include the ability to modify it as needed for use in the purchaser’s design. Convertible cores are also known as soft cores because they are provided in Register Transfer Language (RTL) or as logical netlists. IP cores are sometimes supplied in a low-level transistor layout format instead. These are called hard cores because they cannot be significantly modified by licensees. Many mixed-signal and analog designs are shipped as hard cores to ensure specific signal timings and physical layouts.
Some companies build their entire business around the design and licensing of core IPs. For example, ARM Holdings processors appear in many mobile phones, global positioning system devices, and personal digital assistants. The company doesn’t actually make any chips; it simply licenses them as IP cores to several other chip makers. For other companies, IP cores are a final means of profiting off projects they no longer use in their products. An IP core is also known as an intellectual property core because the owner can license the copyrights and patents of the main design to others.
An example of an IP core is the PowerPC® processor designed by a group of semiconductor manufacturers in 1991. This chip was used extensively as a standalone processor in Apple® Incorporated’s Macintosh® systems until 2005. It was also frequently used in servers and some video game systems. By 2006, Apple® had moved to Intel® Corporation chips and the PowerPC® was becoming more of a niche processor. Rather than abandon the architecture, the owners license it as a core IP to many other companies for use in their projects.
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