VLSI IC of IEC/ISA data link layer FieldBus

Among real-time communication systems, FieldBuses are nowadays a reality in the factory automation environment. Several proprietary FieldBus standards are currently available, but no international standards are present. Only the IEC/ISA FieldBus is in the final stage of standardisation. It is known that an important issue about the real implementability of a standard is the evaluation of the hardware/software resources it needs, as they influence the cost for the final user. The need to maintain this cost as low as possible is particularly felt in the factory automation field. The paper is aimed at evaluating the complexity of VLSI IC implementation of IEC/ISA FieldBus communication system, focusing only on the data link layer services and procedures, as it represents the most critical and complex level. The complexity is measured in term of silicon area needed to synthesise the logical blocks identified in the data link layer implementation. The evaluation is limited to the implementation of simple devices, i.e. to communication nodes with the smallest subset of data link functionalities. Simple devices are the most used communication nodes in factory automation field, implying the need to understand if it is possible produce them at a low cost