ASIC Prototyping -- New design realities demand a new approach

Modern ASIC design pushes prototypes to model vast RTL interactions across many FPGAs, often under high-bandwidth conditions that strain traditional systems. Verification teams also need fluid movement between emulation and at-speed prototyping, exposing any gaps in flow, tooling, or model continuity. This white paper presents an integrated solution that addresses these challenges through a unified platform designed for speed, scale, and consistency.

The featured at-speed prototyping platform delivers high execution rates using advanced FPGAs with abundant fast logic, dense memory, and extensive programmable interconnect. By exploiting all available I/O, including high-speed serial links, it maintains robust inter-chip bandwidth that keeps large models running at elevated clock rates without stalls. This connectivity simplifies partitioning across many FPGAs and helps sustain performance regardless of how the design is split.

Scalability is central to the architecture. The platform grows from a single FPGA to multi-board and multi-rack systems using a common compiler, runtime flow, and interconnect framework. This enables teams to evaluate everything from small subsystem behavior to full-chip models running production workloads.

This paper underscores the need for a modern approach to at-speed prototyping, one that can navigate rising design complexity, maintain verification agility, and help teams reach first-pass success with greater confidence and efficiency.