Quartz DRC is architected to verify any design in few hours and is a result of Magma's acquisition of Mojave Design. With immediate access to Quartz DRC and the TSMC-specific design rule decks, designers can achieve significantly faster turnaround times on devices targeted to TSMC's manufacturing process.
"We have tested the accuracy of Quartz DRC for our 90- and 65-nm processes using the same rigorous qualification procedures and test structures we use for all DRC tools," said Ed Wan, senior director, Design Service Marketing at TSMC. "We believe Quartz DRC can provide a significant turnaround time advantage."
"Market windows are shrinking along with process technologies," said John Lee, general manager of Magma's Physical Verification Business Unit. "We're pleased that by certifying Quartz DRC for TSMC's advanced processes, we can offer mutual customers additional confidence in the ability of Magma's physical verification solution to address their most challenging design and schedule requirements."
TSMC's 65-nm success builds on the company's industry-leading 0.13-micron and 90-nm track records. TSMC estimates that the 65-nm production will ramp during 2006, and the company will also launch 65-nm prototyping shuttles every other month, enabling customers and EDA, IP and library suppliers to prototype and qualify their leading-edge designs.
TSMC's 65-nm Nexsys(SM) technology is the company's third-generation semiconductor process employing both copper interconnects and low-k dielectrics. It is a 9-layer metal process with core voltages of 1.0 or 1.2 volts, and I/O voltages of 1.8, 2.5 or 3.3 volts. The new technology offering supports a standard cell gate density twice that of TSMC's 90-nm Nexsys process. It also features very competitive 6T SRAM and 1T embedded DRAM memory cell sizes. In addition, this technology offering includes mixed signal and radio frequency functionality to support analog and wireless design, embedded high density memory to support integration of logic and memory, and electrical fuse to support customer encryption needs.
About Magma
Magma's software for integrated circuit (IC) design is recognized as embodying the best in semiconductor technology. The world's top chip companies use Magma's EDA software to design and verify complex, high-performance ICs for communications, computing, consumer electronics and networking applications, while at the same time reducing design time and costs. Magma provides software for IC implementation, analysis, physical verification, characterization and programmable logic design, and the company's integrated RTL-to-GDSII design flow offers "The Fastest Path from RTL to Silicon"(TM). Magma is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. with offices around the world. Magma's stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Visit Magma Design Automation on the Web at www.magma-da.com.
Magma is a registered trademark and Quartz and "The Fastest Path from RTL to Silicon" are trademarks of Magma Design Automation Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Forward-looking Statements:
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements about TSMC's intention to accept Quartz DRC as sign-off; the expected availability of the 90- and 65-nm rule sets for TSMC processes; Quartz DRC's ability to verify designs in a few hours; and statements about the features and benefits of Magma's software and the TSMC's processes are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including but not limited to the ability of Magma's and TSMC's products to produce the desired results, the companies' abilities to keep pace with rapidly changing technology and the companies' decisions to continue working together. Further discussion of these and other potential risk factors may be found in Magma's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( www.sec.gov). The companies undertake no additional obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Magma Design Automation Inc. Monica Marmie, 408-565-7689 Email Contact