Cadence achieves the latest TSMC N2 certification

Through this latest collaboration, the companies delivered new N2 process design kits (PDKs) to make it easy for customers to leverage the latest technologies from both companies, including Cadence AI technologies that improve designer productivity. Mutual customers are already designing innovative AI, hyperscale computing, and mobile applications using the N2 PDKs, accomplishing design objectives, simplified analogue process migration, and faster time to market.

Cadence digital full flow

The complete, certified Cadence digital full flow includes the Innovus Implementation System, Quantus Extraction Solution and Quantus Field Solver, Tempus Timing Solution and ECO Option, Pegasus Verification System, Liberate Characterisation Portfolio, and voltus IC Power Integrity Solution.

The digital full flow supports all the latest TSMC N2 PDK requirements, offering customers several key new features. In addition, the quantus field solver offers process modelling of comprehensive geometries and parasitic effects at N2, delivering models for SRAM, memory, high-performance, and sensitive designs. The Innovus Implementation System engines have been enhanced to achieve N2 design goals with optimal utilisation, based on a predictable, convergent flow. The Pegasus Verification System for physical signoff delivers a productivity boost through a tight integration with Cadence’s Virtuoso Studio. Finally, the Voltus IC Power Integrity Solution provides IR analysis across the frontside layers, enabling customers to build a robust power network for IR drop closure. 

The Cadence Cerebrus Intelligent Chip Explorer is also enabled on N2, which allows customers to spend less time on manual design processes, providing productivity improvements. 

Cadence custom/analogue flow

The Cadence custom/analogue flow, certified for TSMC’s N2 technology, is based on Virtuoso Studio, which includes the Virtuoso Schematic Editor, Virtuoso ADE Suite, and Virtuoso Layout Suite. Also included is the Spectre Simulation Platform, including the Spectre X Simulator and Spectre eXtensive Partitioning Simulator (XPS). This latest flow provides a complete suite of routing technology accurately covering all custom/analogue topologies.

The new Virtuoso ADE architecture has been augmented to let users manage up to tens of thousands of simulation tests in parallel on modern compute farms and public and private clouds, all while reducing the Virtuoso memory footprint. Enhanced verification methods have been added to ensure design robustness. Spectre FMC Analysis statistical technology quickly finds tail samples that can cause design failures. Additionally, new optimisation algorithms are available to swiftly recentre migrated designs to new specification tolerances.

The Virtuoso Layout Suite has also been updated for efficient layout implementation on TSMC’s N2, providing performance enhancements like core editing commands, connectivity extraction, layout navigation, and stream-out to abstract generation; enhanced abutment of analogue cells with a track pattern assistant; a non-uniform grid-based, structured device placement methodology with interactive, assisted features for placement, routing, fill and insertion; device-level auto-routing to managed advanced-node complexities; automated DRM-compliant guard ring generation; integrated parasitic extraction and EM-IR checks; enhanced custom migration and reuse functionality; seamless place-and-route engine integration with Innovus Implementation System to improve quality of results (QoR).

“Through our long-time collaboration with Cadence, customers have access to our latest N2 process technology and the enhanced Cadence digital and custom/analogue flows to create next-generation AI, hyperscale and mobile ICs,” said Dan Kochpatcharin, Head of the Design Infrastructure Management Division at TSMC. “Cadence and TSMC worked closely with customers to understand their most pressing design needs so we could fine-tune our solutions to best meet their requirements and enable them to accelerate time to market.”

“We continue to be deeply focused on innovation, and through our latest collaboration with TSMC, we’ve added even more new functionality to our latest certified digital and custom/analogue flows to enable our customers to be successful with N2 designs,” said Dr. Chin-Chi Teng, Senior Vice President and General Manager in the Digital and Signoff Group at Cadence. “Additionally, our AI-powered solutions, Cadence Cerebrus and Virtuoso Studio, offer customers innovative automation capabilities to make them much more efficient. We look forward to seeing our mutual customers achieve their design goals so they can deliver high-quality designs to market faster.”

The Cadence digital and custom/analogue flows support the Cadence Intelligent System Design strategy, enabling customers to achieve system-on-chip (SoC) design excellence.