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Design >> Mixed-Signal Design >> Questions on the reverse design of the mixed circuit
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Message started by dandelion on Jul 14^th, 2008, 2:46am

Title: Questions on the reverse design of the mixed circuit
Post by dandelion on Jul 14^th, 2008, 2:46am

Hi,
Recently,we revesed a mixed signal IC. I found the digital part is synthesized from behavioral level. It seems impossible for me to understand it. It is impossible to understand its function from gate level.I wonder how to analysis it?

Pl.s share your experence with me.

Thanks

Title: Re: Questions on the reverse design of the mixed circuit
Post by Stefan on Jul 14^th, 2008, 3:18am

Go ask the designer?
What do you've got?
Schematics? Source code? Or just a die-micrograph?

Title: Re: Questions on the reverse design of the mixed circuit
Post by dandelion on Jul 14^th, 2008, 6:28pm

Stefan wrote on Jul 14^th, 2008, 3:18am:

Go ask the designer?
What do you've got?
Schematics? Source code? Or just a die-micrograph?

Thanks for your humor.

I don't know you can get the schematics, source code, even can ask the designers when you reversed an IC.

Any better idea? I ust have a die-micrograph.

Title: Re: Questions on the reverse design of the mixed circuit
Post by loose-electron on Jul 15^th, 2008, 5:55pm

These guys:

http://www.chipworks.com/

Make their business from reverse engineering.

Why bother to reverse the digital design? Probably quicker to just redefine it. A lot of reverse work gets done so people can learn how the competition did their product.

Title: Re: Questions on the reverse design of the mixed circuit
Post by jbdavid on Jul 22^nd, 2008, 11:39pm

The only other reason one might reverse engineer something would be to determine if some patented IP had been used..
-- for my own part, I would prefer you not be able to reverse engineer my work.. .. just PAY me (or the IP owner and have them pay me) and I'll gladly (with permission of the owner) tell you what you need to know.
---
but LVS extraction and formal verif tools seem to do a decent job extracting the logic from the layout..
just an idea..
jbd