EDA Alert: December 6, 2005

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EDA Alert e-Newsletter
Electronic Design - www.electronicdesign.com
December 6, 2005

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Today's Table of Contents:
1. Viewpoint Exclusive -- For FPGAs, Traditional Physical Synthesis
Falls Short
2. Electromagnetic Analysis Tool Predicts Components' Performance
3. Student Design Contest Open For Entries
4. Analog/Mixed-Signal Design Kit Arrives For 0.35-Micron Technology
5. Design Platform Unifies Hardware And Software Development
6. Happenings
- ICESS-05
- ASP-DAC 2006
- VLSI Design'06

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please contact mailto:tcad_team@synopsys.com or visit our website at:

http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B180:484C79

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TAKE A POLL: Which tech toy would you put at the top of your holiday
wish list?

-- iPod
-- High-definition plasma TV
-- GPS navigation system
-- Smart phone
-- Satellite radio

Electronic Design's Quick Poll ==>
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=15275:484C79

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1. Viewpoint -- Exclusive to EDA Alert
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For FPGAs, Traditional Physical Synthesis Falls Short

Andy Haines, Vice President of Marketing
Synplicity Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif. FPGA silicon technology has undergone
quite a metamorphosis since it emerged on the scene in the 1980s,
and the design technology that supports it has necessarily evolved
as well. Not entirely surprisingly, though, the design community that
has been quite eager to embrace advances in FPGA capacity and
performance has been more sluggish in adopting corresponding design
technology advances...

Read the complete story at:
Viewpoint ==>
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B181:484C79

*************************ADVERTISEMENT******************************

* *Sponsored by Mentor Graphics* *

Analyzing Architectures for ARM-based SoC Design
Explore the impact of different techniques to improve
multiprocessor-based SoC design throughput/performance.
Free online seminar presents a simulation-based approach to
profiling/analysis to identify bottlenecks within a design's bus
architecture.

http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B182:484C79

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Free Web Seminar: RoHS/WEEE -- The Manager's Role, Part 2

Wednesday, December 21, 2005
2:00 pm EST

Is the industry ready to comply with the European Union's
Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electrical &
Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives? Several surveys suggest it
is not. While there's still a great deal of work to be done on the
technical side, corporate-level and engineering managers are still
wrestling with cost, communications, and supply-chain issues that
come with meeting the RoHS requirements. Join us for our second Web
seminar looking at the manager's role in the transition to RoHS
compliance. We will identify and explore the decisions that must be
made by industry managers. Register today!

http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B183:484C79

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2. News
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Electromagnetic Analysis Tool Predicts Components' Performance

The latest version of Ansoft's Maxwell, a 3D electromagnetic
analysis tool used to predict the performance of low-frequency
electromechanical components, adds capabilities for 3D analytical
and FEM-based (finite-element-method) machine design. Version 11 of
Maxwell also adds the company's graphical user interface and desktop
environment, which enables geometry creation/import, integrated
parametrization and optimization, model resolution, healing
techniques, and electrically aware meshing. Maxwell v11 is available
for Windows 2000+, XP, Server 2003, XP Professional x64, Sun
Solaris 8/9, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3. For pricing information,
contact Ansoft directly.

Ansoft ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B184:484C79

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3. News
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Student Design Contest Open For Entries

Submissions are being accepted through Thursday, Dec. 8, for the
annual Student Design Contest. Sponsored jointly by the Design
Automation Conference (DAC) and the International Solid State
Circuits Conference (ISSCC), the contest accepts designs for analog,
digital, or programmable circuits and systems. Submissions can be
embodied as ICs, reconfigurable processors, systems-on-a-chip,
platform-based designs, or embedded systems designs. An award
ceremony will be held during DAC, July 24-28, 2006, at the Moscone
Center in San Francisco.

Submissions are invited from full-time graduate and undergraduate
students in three categories: operational, which means that an IC
design was built and tested; system design, which focuses on FPGA or
other programmable architectures; and conceptual, where a project
was designed and simulated. The design must be part of the students'
course or research work at the university. It also must have been
completed within 18 months prior to the Dec. 8 submission deadline.

The total prize money is expected to be close to $15,000, shared
between first, second, and third place winners in each category.
Winners will be notified prior to the 43rd DAC and offered travel
assistance to attend.

Design Automation Conference ==>
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B185:484C79

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Freescale Microcontroller Pop Quiz

Put your microcontroller knowledge to the test by answering five
challenging questions from Electronic Design and Freescale. Don't
forget to enter your details and hit submit to be eligible to win a
new Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner!

http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B186:484C79
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4. News
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Analog/Mixed-Signal Design Kit Arrives For 0.35-Micron Technology

An analog/mixed-signal technology design kit, based on the latest
version of Mentor Graphics' IC Flow 2005.1, is available for
0.35-micron CMOS silicon technologies. The Mentor HIT-Kit supports
austriamicrosystems' mixed-signal CMOS, SiGe-biCMOS, and
high-voltage CMOS processes. It's intended for use with Mentor's
ICstudio environment, which is used to develop and manage complex
analog/mixed-signal designs. A set of highly accurate simulation
models accounts for parasitic effects and safe-operating-area
checks.

The Mentor HIT-Kit v3.70 contains a complete set of fully
silicon-qualified standard cells, periphery cells, and
general-purpose analog cells. These include comparators, operational
amplifiers, and low-power analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog
converters, all of which are necessary to rapidly get designs off
the ground when using Mentor Graphics' IC Flow environment based on
ICstudio. Custom analog and RF devices, physical-verification rule
sets for Calibre DRC/LVS, and device models for Calibre xRC as well
as excellent characterized circuit-simulation models enable rapid
design starts of complex mixed-signal ICs.

austriamicrosystems ==>
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B187:484C79
Mentor Graphics ==>
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B188:484C79

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5. News
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Design Platform Unifies Hardware And Software Development

Version 6.0 of Altium Designer, a unified electronic-product
development system, is now more equipped to support the high board
densities and high-speed signaling found in today's designs.
Programmable design support is extended with increased programmable
device and processor coverage and higher levels of physical-level
integration.

Altium Designer 6.0 is a unified application that incorporates all
of the technologies and capabilities necessary for complete
electronic product development. Within a single design environment,
it integrates board- and FPGA-level system design; embedded software
development for FPGA-based and discrete processors; and pc-board
layout, editing, and manufacturing.

Altium Designer 6.0 is available now. For pricing, contact Altium
directly.

Altium ==> http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B189:484C79

*************************ADVERTISEMENT******************************

Electronics Workbench Multisim 9 Now Available

The new version of the world's most widely used circuit simulation
software includes many timesaving innovations, including
industry-leading integration with LabVIEW 8.

Special pricing is in effect until December 22 - call 800-263-5552
to request a quotation.

We know that the only way to truly evaluate professional software is
to try it on a project. Download your copy of the Freeware Edition
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http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B18A:484C79

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Archived Web Seminar: Reuse RTL With Confidence

Whether you inherit RTL code from a legacy design, an outsource
design group, or external IP, reuse is a fact of life in modern
design. Join Electronic Design and Mentor Graphics for this free
webcast to learn new techniques and tools that can sharply reduce
the spin-up tax on your inherited code. This is a must-see for all
ASIC/FPGA designers and engineering project managers.

Register and view at your convenience!

http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16AB9:484C79
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Archived Web Seminar: TCAD Technology

Through the use of TCAD simulation software and services,
semiconductor companies can reduce product development cost and
enhance process and device performance even before silicon is
available. Join Electronic Design Automation Editor David Maliniak
for a look at Synopsys' Sentaurus TCAD process and device simulation
software during this Web seminar.

The archive is available 24/7 at:

http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=16ABA:484C79

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6. Happenings
**************

International Conference on Embedded Software and Systems (ICESS-05)
Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, People's
Republic of China
December 16-18, 2005
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=17FF7:484C79

International Conference on VLSI Design
International Conference on Embedded Systems: Mobile Embedded
Systems (VLSI Design'06)
Hyderabad, India
January 3-7, 2006
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=1B18B:484C79

Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference (ASP-DAC 2006)
Pacifico Yokohama, Yokohama City, Japan
January 24-27, 2006
http://news.electronicdesign.com/t?ctl=17FF8:484C79

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EDA ALERT e-NEWSLETTER CONTACTS

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EDA Technology Editor, Electronic Design: David Maliniak
mailto:dmaliniak@penton.com

Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities: Bill Baumann
mailto:bbaumann@penton.com

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