Synopsys enables first-pass silicon success

John Koeter, vice president of marketing for IP and systems at Synopsys, comments: "Synopsys understands how important it is for companies like Abilis and other customers to meet their aggressive design requirements and project schedules. By delivering a broad portfolio of products and consulting services, including high-quality IP and design flows, Synopsys complements our customers' capabilities so they can be more productive in their design activities and focus on their unique product differentiators. Abilis' successful tapeout of their media processor is an impressive accomplishment, and we are happy to have contributed."

Abilis' secure media processors power headless gateway platforms to provide mobile devices and IP-based receivers with high-quality TV. Abilis utilised Synopsys IP and design implementation expertise to quickly take the TB100 to production. By combining Synopsys' DesignWare ARC 605 and 770D Processors, DesignWare Interface IP for ARM AMBA interconnect and the Ethernet MAC10/100/1G Universal Core, as well as Embedded Memories with integrated memory test and repair, Abilis achieved their performance, power and area requirements with low-risk, silicon proven IP.

Abilis also utilised the Lynx Design System, an integrated and customizable RTL-to-GDSII block- and chip-level design environment. Three months ahead of their project schedule, this allowed them to deploy and validate a complete 65-nanomenter design flow in just six weeks. Reducing design iterations and mitigating the project risks, Synopsys' design consultants were also available to provide design assistance to Abilis' engineers throughout the implementation process.

"To get an initial design developed and take it to production on an extremely aggressive schedule, we had to partner with a trusted vendor like Synopsys to provide us with the high-quality IP portfolio, design flows and services we needed. The combination of high performance with low power is a key criterion for the chips we design for the digital TV market. By using Synopsys' silicon-proven ARC processors and interface IP, Lynx Design System and knowledgeable design consultants, we met our power and performance targets, shortened the project schedule and quickly delivered our product to the fast-paced consumer market," commented Yves Mathys, CEO at Abilis Systems.