Mixed-Signal Verification Suite Leverages Fast-Spice Technology

April 27, 2007
Consumers nowadays want handheld and portable systems that can do it allwireless operation, eye-candy video playback, you name it. But many of these crowd-pleasing features involve a great deal of mixed-signal verification. At 65 nm, the con

Consumers nowadays want handheld and portable systems that can do it all—wireless operation, eye-candy video playback, you name it. But many of these crowd-pleasing features involve a great deal of mixed-signal verification.

At 65 nm, the contribution of layout parasitics stemming from interconnects is wreaking havoc on timing closure. Unfortunately, many Spice-based simulators lack the capacity for the job, while fast-Spice variants lose too much in accuracy.

In Discovery AMS 2007, Synopsys has sought to meld the accuracy of Spice with the performance of fast-Spice simulators. Further, Discovery AMS now sports tighter integration between the HSIM fast-Spice engine and the VCS digital simulator, making for higher throughput and greater flexibility in verifying mixed-signal system-on-a-chip designs at all abstraction levels (see the figure).

The culmination of a three-year development effort, the company's XA simulation technology gives the latest revision of Discovery AMS a built-in form of "simulation intelligence" that lets users take advantage of fast-Spice speed without having to be simulation experts.

"Fast Spice is heuristic-based, so users have to set certain configuration files targeted to the circuit being simulated to optimize performance," says Geoffrey Ying, director of marketing for Synopsys' mixed-signal products. "‘Black belts' in fast Spice know how to do this, but average users may not."

Thus, the XA technology offers built-in topology, device, and hierarchy recognition that eliminates the need for setting of simulator configuration files. XA technology is an option for the NanoSim and HSIM simulators.

A user-controlled accuracy command enables easy tradeoff of accuracy and speed. For example, an accuracy setting of one provides the fastest performance, while a maximum setting of seven results in full Spice-level accuracy at the expense of speed.

Discovery AMS 2007 is available now, as is the NanoSim/HSIM XA technology option. Contact Synopsys for package pricing.

Synopsys
www.synopsys.com

About the Author

David Maliniak | MWRF Executive Editor

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.

Sponsored Recommendations

Comments

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Electronic Design, create an account today!