PARIS — Researchers at the University of Southampton's School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) have received a $578,623 funding to develop reliable low power computing systems.
The ECS project team, led by Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi and co-investigator Professor Mark Zwolinski, aims to develop efficient test methods so as to improve the reliability of low power embedded computing systems used in mobile devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and IPods. It is collaborating with ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England) and EDA software vendor Synopsys, Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.).
'If we use existing methods to identify defective integrated systems after manufacturing, without considering the systems operating voltages and semiconductor manufacturing process variation, defects will be missed by the test leading to less reliable products," stated Professor Al-Hashimi.
Scientists said the funds will be used to focus on exploring and developing new and efficient test methods capable of mitigating the impact of voltage and process variation leading to improved test quality and higher dependability.
The three-year project, due to start in January 2010, is funded by the U.K. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Researchers Council.
