Solution enables successful ASIC tapeout

24th July 2017

Alice Matthews

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Datasheet

In order to complete a successful ASIC design tapeout, Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage used the Cadence Genus Synthesis Solution. The solution, used with the CPF-based low-power flow, enabled Toshiba to reduce logic synthesis runtime by two times versus its previous logic synthesis solution. Toshiba also experienced a 5.7% leakage power reduction for a standard cell portion during a trial evaluation of the Genus Synthesis Solution’s physical optimisation flow, which reduced low Vth cell usage while maintaining timing and area.

The Genus Synthesis Solution enabled the Toshiba team to improve productivity during register-transfer-level (RTL) synthesis and to optimise power, performance and area (PPA) in the final implementation. The solution’s massively parallel architecture provided Toshiba with timing-driven distributed synthesis of the design across multiple CPUs. Furthermore, Toshiba’s use of the Genus Synthesis Solution’s physical optimisation flow improves silicon accuracy by modeling physical wiring effects from the earliest stages of the synthesis process, resulting in better design PPA.

“We work daily to create design development methodologies that ensure our products meet or exceed customer and internal product planning team requirements for quality and reduced time to market,” said Atsuyuki Okumura, Chief Specialist, Design Technology Development Department, Center for Semiconductor Research & Development at Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage.

“To speed time to market, it is important that we shorten the runtime of logic synthesis tools. With the Genus Synthesis Solution, we reduced the logic synthesis runtime with the delivery of our ASIC design while obtaining equivalent Quality of Results (QoR) when compared with our previous RTL compiler solution. We’ve also achieved successful results during our evaluation of the Genus physical optimisation flow for leakage power reduction and are continuing to evaluate this flow.”

The Genus Synthesis Solution is a next-gen RTL synthesis and physical synthesis engine that addresses the productivity challenges faced by RTL designers. It is a part of the Cadence digital design platform that supports the company’s overall System Design Enablement strategy, which enables system and semiconductor companies to create complete, differentiated end products more efficiently.