Implementation and signoff tools achieve certification

The tool certification and enablement provide Intel Custom Foundry customers with a complete and integrated SoC design flow. Cadence tools in the flow include:

• Innovus Implementation System: This massively parallel physical implementation system utilises GigaPlace placement technology, GigaOpt optimisation technology and integrated color-/pin-access-/variability–aware routing and timing closure to deliver high-quality designs with competitive power, performance and area (PPA) targets while accelerating time to market.
• Quantus QRC Extraction Solution: This solution uses a single Intel Custom Foundry-certified techfile and delivers a faster, scalable solution by supporting both cell-level and transistor-level extractions during design implementation and signoff with best-in-class accuracy versus foundry golden.
• Tempus Timing Signoff Solution: This massively parallelised timing signoff solution provides full-chip static timing analysis (STA) with gate-level delay calculation including signal integrity (SI) analysis, advanced on-chip variation analysis, advanced-node functionality required for double-patterning and waveform effects, and optimisation for timing and leakage power.
• Voltus IC Power Integrity Solution: This cell-level power integrity solution supports comprehensive electromigration and IR-drop (EM/IR) design rules and requirements while providing full-chip SoC power signoff accuracy.
• Voltus-Fi Custom Power Integrity Solution: This transistor-level power integrity solution supports comprehensive EM/IR design rules and requirements while providing SPICE-level power signoff accuracy for analog, memory and custom digital IP blocks.
• Spectre Classic Simulator, Spectre Accelerated Parallel Simulator (APS) and Spectre RF Simulation: These products deliver fast and accurate circuit simulation of complex analogue, radio frequency (RF) and mixed-signal circuits with full support for advanced-node device models and parasitics.

“Intel Custom Foundry has worked closely with Cadence to deliver an optimised design ecosystem for our customers who are creating innovative, advanced-node designs,” said Dr. Changhong Dai, Vice President, Technology and Manufacturing Group, and Director, Technology Optimisation Solutions at Intel. “The certified Cadence digital implementation, signoff and simulation tools offer our mutual customers a complete and integrated flow and help them achieve superior PPA on Intel’s third-generation tri-gate 10nm process technology.”

“Our PowerVR Series7XT GPUs are designed to provide optimal performance and a seamless user experience for next-generation user interfaces, 3D gaming and GPU compute,” said Graham Deacon, Senior Director of PowerVR Business Operations, Imagination. “Imagination worked closely with Cadence and Intel Custom Foundry to use our PowerVR GT7200 GPU for this tool certification. This effort is part of ensuring that design flows deliver excellent PPA for our GPUs on Intel’s 10nm process.”

“Our collaboration with Intel Custom Foundry on the certification process provides customers with added confidence that they can overcome design complexity and get to market faster using the Cadence flow on Intel Custom Foundry's 10nm design platform,” said Dr. Anirudh Devgan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Digital & Signoff Group and the System & Verification Group at Cadence. “Intel Custom Foundry’s growing customer base can now create differentiated SoCs on the Intel 10nm process using the full system-level-to-signoff Cadence tool flow.”