Analog FastSPICE AMS — Simple, Fast, nm-Accurate Mixed-Signal Verification

Analog FastSPICE AMS — Simple, Fast, nm-Accurate Mixed-Signal Verification
by Daniel Nenni on 11-12-2012 at 7:00 pm


Verification and AMS are top search terms on SemiWiki so clearly designers have a pressing need for fast and accurate verification of today’s mixed-signal SoCs that include massive digital blocks and precision analog/RF circuits. They need simulation performance to verify the mixed-signal functionality, and they need nanometer… Read More


Why are AMS designers turned off by Behavioral Modeling?

Why are AMS designers turned off by Behavioral Modeling?
by Ian Getreu on 11-11-2012 at 8:10 pm

Analog Mixed-Signal (AMS) behavioral models have not caught on with the AMS designer community. Why? I suspect a significant reason (but certainly not the only one) is the way they are presented.

First, what is AMS behavioral modeling?

I define it as “a set of user-defined equations that decribe the terminal behavior of a component”.… Read More


An AMS Reference Flow for Power Management Designs

An AMS Reference Flow for Power Management Designs
by Daniel Payne on 10-26-2012 at 5:42 pm

At DAC in June I visited and blogged about 30+ EDA and Semi IP companies, however I didn’t have time to watch the TowerJazz presentation in the Cadence Theater entitled: AMS Flow for Power Management Designs. Today I watched the 26 minute video and have summarized what I learned in this blog post.… Read More


Cadence Mixed Signal Technology Summit

Cadence Mixed Signal Technology Summit
by Paul McLellan on 09-21-2012 at 6:46 pm

Yesterday I attended some of the Cadence mixed-signal technology summit. The day ended with a panel session on Are We Closing the Gap Yet in Mixed-signal Design? Richard Goering moderated. The panelists were all mixed signal experts:

  • Nayaz Khan of Maxim
  • Nishant Shah of Broadcom
  • Shiv Sikand of IC Manage
  • Bill Meier of Texas Instruments
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Parasitic-Aware Design Flow with Virtuoso

Parasitic-Aware Design Flow with Virtuoso
by Daniel Payne on 07-27-2012 at 12:01 pm

I learn a lot these days through webinars and videos because IC design tools like schematic capture and custom layout are visually oriented. Today I watched a video presentation from Steve Lewis and Stacy Whiteman of Cadence that showed how Virtuoso 6.1.5 is used in a custom IC design flow:… Read More


High-Productivity Analog Verification and Debug

High-Productivity Analog Verification and Debug
by Daniel Nenni on 07-08-2012 at 10:40 pm

See how Synopsys’ advanced analog verification solution can dramatically increase your verification productivity with CustomExplorer Ultra, along with CustomSim and CustomSim-VCS. CustomExplorer Ultra is a comprehensive simulation and debug environment for analog and mixed-signal design verification.

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Synopsys Update 2012!

Synopsys Update 2012!
by Daniel Nenni on 05-28-2012 at 10:22 am

Synopsys just delivered second quarter 2012 results with improved revenue on a year-over-year basis. Unfortunately operating expenses are said to be out of control. I’m not a stock guy so for more financial information and analysis try the Motley Fool article HERE.

The interesting thing to note is that Synopsys still has a pile… Read More


AMS Programmable Prototype Platforms

AMS Programmable Prototype Platforms
by ahmed.shahein on 05-21-2012 at 10:25 am

AVNET released their 15[SUP]th[/SUP] Xfest this year, a couple of months ago. It was here in Germany last week. It was a well organized event, rich with invaluable technical information and full of decent smart engineers and managers. If you missed it this year register for the next event as soon as you can.

It was a very successful… Read More


Analog Automation – Needs Design Perspective

Analog Automation – Needs Design Perspective
by Pawan Fangaria on 04-11-2012 at 7:00 am

Recently I was researching the keynote speeches of isQED (International Society for Quality Electronic Design) Symposium 2012 and saw the very first, great presentation, “Taming the Challenges in Advanced Node Design” by Tom Beckley, Sr. VP at Cadence. I know Tom very well as I have worked with him and I admire his knowledge, authority… Read More


Improving Analog/Mixed Signal Circuit Reliability at Advanced Nodes

Improving Analog/Mixed Signal Circuit Reliability at Advanced Nodes
by glforte on 12-07-2011 at 3:52 pm

Preventing electrical circuit failure is a growing concern for IC designers today. Certain types of failures such as electrostatic discharge (ESD) events, have well established best practices and design rules that circuit designers should be following. Other issues have emerged more recently, such as how to check circuits… Read More