Mentor Graphics Releases Pyxis Custom IC Design Platform and Delivers Advanced Functionality and Increased Productivity

Four key capabilities contribute to the advances in custom IC design quality of results and productivity:
• Concurrent design: Allows multiple designers, on the same local network, to work simultaneously on the same database to accelerate final chip assembly and DRC fixing.
• The Pyxis Custom Router: Automated analog and mixed-signal routing at the transistor, cell, block and chip levels that tackles hierarchical constraint propagation throughout the design with both global routing for congestion mitigation and detailed routing for rich net-by-net constraint application, as well as tight integration with 2.5D interconnect parasitic extraction for support of advanced process technologies.
• The Calibre® RealTime interface: Sign-off quality DRC using standard Calibre decks that allow dynamic design rule checking during editing.
• Support of industry standards: The Pyxis Custom IC Design Platform supports the interchange of design data via OpenAccess.

“In our first experience with the Pyxis custom router, a section of IP that would have normally taken a week to route was finished in a few minutes and also saved one-third of the space in layout,” said Heiner Stockmanns, director of engineering, Marvell. “With the Pyxis custom router, we realized for the first time the huge advantage of being able to iterate more, allowing us to deliver a better design while saving time.”

“Our newis delivering on our vision of eliminating the most serious custom IC design and verification pain points by innovating breakthrough solutions,” said Robert Hum, vice president and general manager, Deep Submicron Division, Mentor Graphics. “The Pyxis platform enables a team of people to work concurrently in the same area of a design to implement late-stage ECOs, and cuts weeks, and sometimes months, off the custom routing phase while delivering an optimized route. Our high-performance Calibre RealTime interface gives users on-demand feedback for design rule violations - a step critical to design speed and quality of results.”

About the Pyxis Custom Design Platform
The Pyxis Custom Design Platform provides the functionality required to design today’s complex custom ICs. The platform is tuned for analog/mixed-signal (AMS) and custom digital designs so that extensive customization is not required. The platform is also tightly integrated with industry leading tools: the Mentor family of AMS simulators and AMS verification solutions, including the Eldo® Classic, Eldo Premier and Questa® ADMS tools, and the Calibre physical verification and DFM platform. The Pyxis Custom Design Platform includes: design data management, design capture, simulation control, results visualization, layout editor with floorplanning, concurrent editing and a custom router. These tools are easy to learn and use, and also provide advance functionality for advanced users. Mentor is fully committed to support industry standards as they apply to the custom design space. Today, the support for these standards includes OpenAccess, iPDK, EDIF, LEF/DEF, etc.

Availability; The Pyxis Custom IC Design Platform is available immediately.