Users cite 10 percent smaller design sizes with Synopsys' Design Compiler

MOUNTAIN VIEW, USA: Synopsys Inc. announced that multiple customers have achieved smaller area using the latest releases of its Design Compiler RTL synthesis solution, a key component of Synopsys' Galaxy Design Platform.

Aggressive area optimization is critical for designers across a wide range of electronic applications to either lower system costs or implement additional functionality without increasing die size. Innovations in the latest releases include advanced optimizations operating with and without physical information, which lower power and produce smaller, more routable designs without impacting timing.

"Minimizing area and meeting timing requirements enables us to differentiate and deliver value in a highly competitive multi-functional product marketplace," said Michihiro Okada, GM of the Software 3 R&D Division, Corporate Software Development Division at KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc., a leading manufacturer of document imaging solutions and document managing systems.

"Design Compiler's new monotonic area optimization reduced design area by 10 percent for multiple designs while meeting timing requirements and lowering leakage power. This allowed my design team to implement additional functionality without an increase in die cost."

"As a leader in mixed-signal semiconductors for the automotive, industrial and consumer markets, reducing die size is critical to meeting our business objectives," said Armin Kemna, director Design Support at Elmos Semiconductor. "We are seeing up to 10 percent reduction in gate count simply by using the latest release of Design Compiler. In addition, technology links between Design Compiler and IC Compiler provided early insight into physical challenges and helped us stay on schedule."

Design Compiler includes new optimization technologies that monotonically reduce design area and leakage power by an average of 10 percent while maintaining timing quality of results (QoR). These area optimizations operate on new or legacy design netlists, with or without physical information and at all process nodes.

Utilizing this new capability, in conjunction with new congestion optimizations, designers can significantly reduce die area and ease design closure without impacting any other QoR metrics. In addition, new RTL analyses and cross probing capabilities accelerate design schedules.