Bearing the fruits of an 18-month initiative, Magma Design Automation has rolled out its next-generation IC implementation suite. Magma's 2005.03 release includes new products and enhancements to Blast Create, Blast Fusion, Blast Noise, Blast Plan Pro, and other existing products.
Most notable in the 2005.03 release is what Magma's calling a "signoff in the loop" flow. Traditionally, designers have used one set of tools for implementation and another for signoff analysis. The separation makes for a good runtime-versus-accuracy tradeoff.
However, it also requires corrective iterative loops when problems crop up in signoff analysis. At 90 and 65 nm, the use of separate point signoff tools becomes a liability. Magma's new flow makes signoff-level analysis available during implementation.
The signoff tools are embodied in three products: Quartz RC, Quartz Time, and Blast Fusion QT. Quartz RC is a full-chip parasitic extraction tool that can be accessed within the Blast Fusion flow or used as a standalone tool with library-exchange format/design-exchange format input. It uses a shape-based geometry processing engine to achieve signoff accuracy within 5% of Magma's QuickCap parasitic extraction engine.
Quartz Time provides timing plus noise analysis with a multimode and multicorner capability. It also offers advanced timing capabilities, such as enhanced current-source model support and support for multivoltage designs.
Blast Fusion QT integrates Quartz Time into the Blast Fusion implementation flow and makes it possible for the tools to handle the effects of both global and localized on-chip variations. Also, Blast Fusion QT analyzes and fixes critical timing problems automatically within the implementation flow, which makes for reduced turnaround times.
Quartz RC and Quartz Time both cost $150,000/year, and Blast Fusion QT costs $175,000/year, all for three-year time-based licenses.
Magma Design Automationwww.magma-da.com