Abstract
Recent advances in semiconductor process technology have made it possible to fit an entire system in a single chip (SoC). However, the design of highly integrated, design requires enormous investments in technical expertise, automated design equipment, and engineering effort. To overcome the technical and organizational issues impeding the development of SoC, the use of pre-designed block (IP) emerged as an approach to greatly boost design productivity. Unfortunately, integrating third party IPs from different vendors is no easy task; an engineer must understand how the block works and how it integrates with other components within the design. To overcome this design issue, several companies have shifted its design approach by standardizing their own sets of IP and software in a fully integrated common architecture from which products with common features can be built, resulting what is referred to as the platform SoC. This thesis began by studying the individual players in IC industry value chain and how they interact to make platform-based design possible. The thesis further investigates the platform SoC developments in Taiwan by examine Faraday Technology Corporation, the only company with commercially available platform SoC solutions to date. The thesis concludes with author’s personal suggestions to Faraday in term of business, market, and technology, utilizing Michael Porter’s five forces analysis in conjunction with SWOT. Informal interview were also conducted with employees of Faraday to further strengthen the conclusive remark.