Collaboration Extends Industry Adoption of ECSM and Noise Library Support to Virage Logic's IPrima Mobile(TM) Semiconductor IP Platform
SAN JOSE & FREMONT, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Feb. 28, 2005— Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CDN) (Nasdaq: CDN) and Virage Logic Corp. (Nasdaq:VIRL) today announced results of a collaboration to provide library views to better address low-power, multi-voltage nanometer design needs. Virage Logic has generated and qualified timing library views that include the Cadence(R) effective current source model (ECSM) extensions for accurate supply-voltage delay prediction and noise library views (cdB) for signal-integrity (SI) analysis.When used with the Cadence Encounter(TM) digital IC design platform, these new library views enable design teams to accurately account for crosstalk, supply-voltage (IR) drop, voltage and frequency scaling, and multiple voltage-island support required for advanced nanometer technologies.
In a single, integrated platform, Virage Logic's IPrima Mobile includes single- and dual-port STAR SRAMs, Area, Speed and Power (ASAP) Memory(TM) Ultra-Low-Power Memories, ASAP Logic(TM) Ultra-Low-Power Standard Cell Libraries, and Base I/O Cells. Support for cdB is included in the ASAP Logic standard cell products, and the ASAP Memory embedded memory compilers have been enhanced to enable noise-library creation (cdB). This is essential to accurately isolate and correct crosstalk-induced failures that may occur at the interface to each memory block.
"Our customers demand fast timing closure when they take our synthesizable cores to silicon," said Tom Chanak, CAD manager at MIPS Technologies. "At high frequencies, SI has become a critical variable that needs to be built into any hardening flow. Having SI library views readily available allows us to get the best out of Cadence Encounter's automatic SI closure flow, enabling our customers to get to market faster."
"ECSM models provide the accuracy and flexibility needed for our IPrima Mobile semiconductor intellectual property (IP) platform for low-power design," said Brani Buric, senior director of product marketing at Virage Logic. "The accuracy of current source models such as ECSM influenced us to support this modeling approach to address the complex features of nanometer designs. In addition, we worked closely with Cadence to generate and validate the noise models."
"Virage Logic joins the growing list of leading IP providers that have adopted ECSM, making it the new de facto standard for nanometer delay modeling," said Jan Willis, senior vice president, Industry Alliances, at Cadence. "By enabling designers to detect and repair SI problems earlier in the design process, they now can bring their designs to market faster, which is critical in today's competitive marketplace."
For low-power applications that vary the supply voltage for a more effective tradeoff between performance and power, these new library views are essential. The ECSM extensions to the timing libraries enable accurate prediction of performance at different voltage levels, including accounting for IR drop, while the noise libraries (cdB) permit accurate analysis of the combined impact of IR drop and crosstalk on functionality.
These views are especially important for low-power designs that use multi-threshold cells and multiple power supplies and are consequently more sensitive to SI-induced failures. The new library views are also available for nanometer timing and SI signoff with the Cadence CeltIC(TM) crosstalk analyzer and the SignalStorm(R) NDC nanometer delay calculator.
About Virage Logic's IPrima Mobile Platform
Created for the portable and hand-held market, the IPrima Mobile semiconductor IP platform provides several static and dynamic power saving features all designed to extend the battery life while maximizing performance by reducing up to 20X static and 80 percent dynamic power dissipation. IPrima Mobile builds on Virage Logic's three-plus years of silicon-proven experience in thousands of high-volume consumer products to provide SoC designers with a single, integrated IP platform that enables them to efficiently develop consumer products with longer battery life.
Availability
cdB noise model support is available with recent releases of ASAP Logic Standard Cell Libraries and ASAP Memory Compilers. ECSM model support will be available in certain IPrima IP components starting in the second half of 2005. Contact the local Virage Logic sales office for view availability. Virage Logic sales office contact information can be found at www.viragelogic.com.
About Virage Logic
Founded in 1996, Virage Logic Corporation (Nasdaq:VIRL) rapidly established itself as a technology and market leader in providing advanced embedded memory intellectual property (IP) for the design of complex integrated circuits. Today the company is a global leader in semiconductor IP platforms comprising embedded memories, standard cells, and I/Os and is pioneering the development of a new class of IP called Silicon Aware IP. Silicon Aware IP tightly integrates Physical IP (memory, logic and I/Os) with the embedded test, diagnostic, and repair capabilities of Infrastructure IP to help ensure manufacturability and optimized yield at the advanced process nodes. Virage Logic's highly differentiated product portfolio provides higher performance, lower power, higher density and optimal yield to foundries, integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and fabless customers who develop products for the consumer, communications and networking, hand-held and portable, and computer and graphics markets. The company's comprehensive quality efforts are validated in its FirstPass-Silicon Characterization Lab, which helps ensure high quality, reliable IP across a wide range of foundries and process technologies. Headquartered in Fremont, California, Virage Logic has R&D, sales and support offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.viragelogic.com.
About Cadence
Cadence is the world's largest supplier of electronic design technologies and engineering services. Cadence products and services are used to accelerate and manage the design of semiconductors, computer systems, networking equipment, telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics, and other electronics based products. With approximately 4,900 employees and 2004 revenues of approximately $1.2 billion, Cadence has sales offices, design centers, and research facilities around the world. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and trades on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq under the symbol CDN. More information is available at www.cadence.com.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT FOR VIRAGE LOGIC UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995:
Statements made in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements, including, for example, statements relating to trends, business outlook, products, and customer relationships. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which might cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include Virage Logic's ability to forecast its business, including its revenue, income and order flow outlook; Virage Logic's ability to execute on its strategy to become a provider of semiconductor IP platforms; Virage Logic's ability to continue to develop new products and maintain and develop new relationships with third-party foundries and integrated device manufacturers; adoption of Virage Logic's technologies by semiconductor companies and increases or fluctuations in the demand for their products; the company's ability to overcome the challenges associated with establishing licensing relationships with semiconductor companies; the company's ability to obtain royalty revenues from customers in addition to license fees, to receive accurate information necessary for calculating royalty revenues and to collect royalty revenues from customers; business and economic conditions generally and in the semiconductor industry in particular; competition in the market for semiconductor IP platforms; and other risks including those described in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended September 30, 2004, and in Virage Logic's other periodic reports filed with the SEC, all of which are available from Virage Logic's website ( www.viragelogic.com) or from the SEC's website ( www.sec.gov), and in news releases and other communications. Virage Logic disclaims any intention or duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release.
Cadence, Cadence logo and SignalStorm are registered trademarks of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Encounter and CeltIC are trademarks of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Virage Logic is a registered trademark and IPrima Mobile, ASAP Logic and ASAP Memory are trademarks of Virage Logic Corp. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
Cadence Design Systems Inc. Bruce Chan, 408-894-2961 Email Contact or Virage Logic Corporation Sabina Burns, 510-743-8115 Email Contact