Cadence intros Encounter Digital Implementation System

USA: Cadence Design Systems Inc. has launched the Cadence Encounter Digital Implementation System, a configurable digital implementation platform delivering incredible scalability with complete support for parallel processing across the design flow.

The system also brings an ultra-efficient new core memory architecture delivering higher-performance, higher-capacity design closure for single CPU operations. With this new system, designers are reporting dramatically improved design time, design closure, and faster time-to-market for advanced digital and mixed-signal devices.

Along with enhanced performance and capacity, Cadence's Encounter Digital Implementation System offers new technologies for silicon virtual prototyping, die-size exploration and RTL and physical synthesis, providing improved predictability and optimization in early stages of the design flow.

In addition, multiple new and enhanced implementation and design closure technologies are being introduced, including automated floorplan synthesis, end-to-end multi-mode multi-corner optimization, variation-tolerant and low power clock tree and clock mesh synthesis, high-capacity placement and optimization, 32nm routing and manufacturing-aware optimization, signoff-driven implementation, and flip chip design features.

"Tilera's TILEPro64 processor includes 64 general purpose cores each operating at up to 866 MHz with total chip power consumption under 20 watts, thus putting challenging requirements on timing and power," said John F. Brown III, VP IC Engineering at Tilera. "Encounter Digital Implementation System brings together all the related tools under one interface with easy data-sharing and powerful debug capabilities. We can now converge early in the chip development process, achieving faster design closure and meeting aggressive time-to-market goals for our networking, wireless, and digital multimedia applications."

Using Encounter Digital Implementation System designers are able to achieve extraordinary levels of predictability, productivity, scalability, and flexibility from its unified and automated implementation environment for high performance, high-capacity design closure; low power, mixed signal and advanced node design; and signoff analysis. The extensibility and integration of the Encounter Digital Implementation System helps designers to achieve rapid technology adoption, and a faster, higher-quality ramp to volume production.

"As a leader in SoC design services, Faraday has always been committed to designing chips that are not only high performance, but high power-efficiency as well," said Kun-Cheng Wu, Director of Design Development, Faraday Technology. "Encounter Digital Implementation System's low power technology exceeds our expectations in delivering a low-power implementation flow. The CPF-enabled Cadence Low Power Solution provides a full front-to-back solution that helps us significantly reduce power consumption in our designs."

"We have been very successful in using the Cadence implementation environment to develop and tapeout our challenging mixed signal designs," said Dr. Daniel Van Blerkom, CTO at Forza Silicon. "Our corporate goal is to exceed our customer's demanding time-to-market objectives, and Cadence has helped us achieve this goal. Using the combination of the Encounter Digital Implementation System and the Virtuoso custom IC design platform has significantly improved our design efficiency. This has enabled us to deliver high quality mixed signal circuits and designs to our customers, while meeting our aggressive schedules."

The Encounter Digital Implementation System’s advanced node technologies, including litho-, CMP-, thermal, and statistical-aware optimization, make it an uniquely capable solution for leading-edge 45- and 32-nanometer designs, those with aggressive design specifications including 100 million or more instances, 1,000-plus macros, operating speeds exceeding 1GHz, ultra-low power budgets, and large amounts of mixed-signal content. The system provides comprehensive manufacturing-aware and variation-aware implementation, and an end-to-end multi-core infrastructure for fast, predictable design closure.

"Built on a strong portfolio of production-proven core technologies, the new Encounter Digital Implementation System ushers in a new era of productivity for digital IC design," said David Desharnais, group director of the Cadence digital implementation group. "It leads the way in multi-CPU performance, capacity, integration of design closure, low-power, mixed-signal, and advanced node design features and real-time signoff analysis necessary to reduce time to market and risk for our customers."