Date: 6th Aug 2010
Creative Chip's complex semiconductor
device designed using Synopsys' Galaxy
Synopsys said Creative Chips, a mixed-signal semiconductor
IC provider, has taped out its most complex mixed-signal
chip to date using Synopsys' Galaxy Implementation Platform.
The 180-nanometer (nm) CMOS industrial bus controller contains
complex analog and digital blocks that were created using
the Galaxy cell-based physical implementation solution and
Synopsys' Galaxy Custom Designer custom implementation solution
as a unified platform to accelerate time-to-market. The
Custom Designer solution was also used for full-chip editing
and final chip-finishing tasks. Using this unified solution
enabled Creative Chips to meet its aggressive schedule and
die-size requirements, says Synopsys.
"A single platform for both custom and cell-based
design gives us the productivity gains we need to implement
our complex mixed-signal designs more quickly," said
Dr. Lutz Porombka, managing director of Creative Chips.
"Custom Designer's tight integration within the Galaxy
Implementation Platform provided us with a streamlined design
flow, allowing us to focus more on our design and less on
tool integration issues."
Creative Chips' latest design packs phase-locked loops
(PLLs), voltage regulators and embedded RAM. The Custom
Designer solution was used to complete the layout for custom
digital and analog blocks, Synopsys' HSPICE circuit simulator
was used for the pre-layout simulations, and the CustomSim
FastSPICE simulator was used to verify the extracted netlists
from the StarRC extraction tool. After final signoff using
Synopsys' IC Validator for layout versus schematic (LVS)
and design rule checking (DRC), the design was successfully
taped out.
"Custom Designer continues to build momentum both
in terms of customer adoption and technology innovation
due to its open environment and integration within the Galaxy
Implementation Platform," said Bijan Kiani, vice president
of product marketing at Synopsys. "Customers such as
Creative Chips are realizing higher productivity in designing
complex mixed-signal devices by adopting Synopsys' unified
solution for mixed-signal design."
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