Doctoral Thesis - Formal IP Interface Protocol Specification for Compatibility Checks and Verif[...]

Infineon Technologies; München; Vor Ort; EUR 45.000 - 60.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

Infineon Technologies is seeking a PhD candidate to work on a doctoral thesis in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich. The project focuses on formalizing hardware IP interface specifications, enhancing digital design flows and improving interoperability.

Candidates should possess a Master’s degree in electrical engineering or computer science and demonstrate proficiency in Python. This unique role involves collaborative research with both professors and industry professionals to address real-world challenges in hardware design.

Qualifikationen

• Master’s degree with a very good academic track record.
• Interest in complex, interdisciplinary tasks.
• High proficiency in English and preferably German.

Aufgaben

• Define an IP interface specification format.
• Implement compatibility checks between interfaces.
• Generate verification references automatically.
• Test and evaluate methods on Infineon IPs.
• Collaborate with external partners.
• Improve methodology based on feedback.

Kenntnisse

Proficiency in Python

Background in digital design and verification

Experience with hardware description languages (VHDL/Verilog)

Understanding of metamodeling

Good presentation and communication skills

Ausbildung

Master’s degree in electrical engineering or computer science

Jobbeschreibung

#WeAreIn to create tiny chips and big careers. Curiosity drives progress. Will you drive it with us? As a PhD at Infineon, you'll collaborate with passionate minds, shape innovations that power tomorrow's world, and build a career where your expertise truly makes a difference. Are you in?

Your Role

As an industrial doctorate at Infineon, you will pursue a doctoral degree at a University and gain professional experience simultaneously—an ideal start for your career. Advance your research with us and profit from our vast network of doctoral candidates and the expertise of a university. Mentorship is handled by both professors and dedicated Infineon employees. The research is carried out in cooperation with the Technical University of Munich and under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ulf Schlichtmann.

We are offering a doctoral thesis dealing with formalizing hardware IP interface and protocol specifications. IP‑based design is widely used within industrial design flows for digital hardware, enabling efficient reuse and IP parameterization. To facilitate interoperability of IP blocks and their configuration across different design tools, formats such as IP‑XACT have been introduced. However, such standardized IP formats convey only the observable interface. The behavior and implemented features within the interface are hidden and can only be determined by manual analysis. As a result, connecting two pin‑compatible IPs does not guarantee successful communication. Many protocol features are optional—e.g., burst accesses—which may cause runtime errors if connected IPs do not support the same feature set. This doctoral work aims to define a generalized interface protocol specification that specifies the features and signal sequences at an IP interface. Formal specification of interface behaviour also enables automated verification that the IP‑internal logic implements the defined interface features.

The project is supported by a grant and continuous result documentation and interaction with the other partners of the collaboration will be part of the work.

Key Responsibilities In Your New Role

• Conceptualization: Definition of an IP interface specification format, based on, or compatible with established IP formats
• Implementation and Automation: Implementation of compatibility checks between connected interfaces
• Verification: Automated generation of verification references
• Application: Continuous testing and evaluation of the developed methods on Infineon IPs in the context of RISC‑V SoCs
• Collaboration: Interaction with external partners of the collaboration
• Methodology Improvement: Study existing approaches, prove the applicability and get feedback to enhance the methodology

Learnings from the thesis will lead to:

• Interface and interconnect protocols
• IP parameterization and customization methods
• Generic IP and interface specification
• Methodology for automated verification in an industrial environment
• Modeling and Meta-Modeling
• Various modeling and abstraction concepts and their implementation

Qualifications And Skills To Help You Succeed

• Education: Master’s degree in electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field with a very good academic track record
• Interests: You are interested in complex, interdisciplinary and interlinked tasks and should like to solve them together with colleagues
• Skills: Proficiency in Python
• Experience: Background in digital design and verification, experience with hardware description languages like VHDL or Verilog; knowledge about IP‑level formats (e.g. IP‑XACT, FuseSoC, etc.) is a plus
• Knowledge: Understanding of metamodeling, template-based code generation and/or model-driven architecture is a plus
• Soft Skills: You possess good presentation and communication skills that help you to present challenging issues clearly and simply
• Language: High proficiency in English, both spoken and written; German is a plus

Please attach your master´s grade transcript to your application.

Contact

Britta Johansson

We look forward to receiving your resume, even if you do not entirely meet all the requirements of the job posting.

We embrace diversity and inclusion and welcome everyone for who they are. At Infineon, we offer a working environment characterized by trust, openness, respect and tolerance and are committed to give all applicants and employees equal opportunities.