RedHawk Version 2014 for Power Noise and Reliability Sign-off Platform for FinFET-Based Designs

ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANSS) has introduced the 2014version of RedHawk((TM)), the industry-standard power noise and reliabilitysign-off platform ready for FinFET-based designs. The new release deliversgreater performance, capacity and coverage, as well as sign-off accuracy toaddress the challenges faced by the increasing complexity of FinFET-baseddesigns.

To meet the demands of lower power consumption and higheroperating performance in today’s mobile, computing, consumer and automotiveelectronics, integrated circuit (IC) designers are adopting FinFET technology -a three-dimensional transistor architecture in which the elevated channel iswrapped by a gate electrode. While FinFET brings many benefits, these designsexperience smaller noise and reliability margins, which require tighter controlover analysis accuracy.

Capacity and Performance

To meet sign-off quality, system-on-chip (SoC) dynamicvoltage drop analysis requires a flat modeling framework to accurately predictthe current flow inside tightly coupled elements across chip, package and theprinted circuit board (PCB). Due to the global nature of power deliverynetwork, a more traditional hierarchical approach cannot deliver the accuracyneeded for sign-off. RedHawk version 2014 offers Distributed Machine Processing(DMP) capabilities that deliver on average three times improvement in memoryfootprint, enabling the simulation of more than 100 million instances or over 2billion nodes, while maintaining flat simulation accuracy. DMP’s proprietaryarchitecture takes advantage of the increased processing power and memorycapacity available in a private machine cluster to simulate each module withinthe context of the entire chip, including package and PCB elements.

Along with DMP, this release employs softwarearchitecture changes and flow optimizations to deliver two to three timesruntime improvements over its previous release, which was already the fastestpower integrity solution in the market. The combination of DMP and architectureimprovements bring capacity and performance required for today’s ultra largedesigns, especially those fabricated using FinFET technologies, withoutcompromising sign-off accuracy.

Chip-Package Co-Analysis

With the increasing size of SoC, along with variations inthe switching current and parasitic profile across the chip, the connectionbetween SoC and package needs to be as granular as possible to deliver qualitysign-off. RedHawk version 2014 introduces RedHawk-CPA, the industry’s firstintegrated chip-package co-simulation and co-analysis solution. This new optionmaps the package to the die layout, through pin-to-pin physical connectivity -seamlessly merging a fully distributed package parasitic network with an on-diepower delivery network. By incorporating both chip and package layouts in thesame simulation environment, RedHawk-CPA provides immediate feedback on thequality of the package design, as well as the impact of package parasitic onthe chip’s performance.

Foundry-Certified Reliability

FinFET-based designs introduce tighter electromigration(EM) limits and a new class of EM rules, as well as greater thermal impact onEM reliability. RedHawk version 2014 is foundry certified for IR-drop and EManalysis for the latest process technology. It supports advanced EM rules thatconsider current flow direction, metal topology and via types for both powerand signal nets. In addition, this release enables thermal-aware EM analysis byproviding chip thermal model (CTM) that accurately captures the thermaldistribution that is critical for FinFET devices with greater self-heatingissues.

“Over the past decade, RedHawk has been the industrystandard for power integrity and sign-off by the world’s top 20 semiconductorcompanies,” said Aveek Sarkar, vice president of product engineering andsupport from ANSYS. “As the industry adopts new FinFET technology, ourcustomers face increasing challenges in meeting their power, performance andprice targets. The release of RedHawk version 2014 demonstrates our commitmentin continuing to deliver innovative technologies to meet our customers’next-generation low-power, high-performance design requirements.”

The ANSYS portfolio of product offerings will beshowcased at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) June 2-6 in exhibit booth#1413.

About ANSYS, Inc.

ANSYS brings clarity and insight to customers’ mostcomplex design challenges through fast, accurate and reliable engineeringsimulation. Our technology enables organizations ? no matter their industry ?to predict with confidence that their products will thrive in the real world.Customers trust our software to help ensure product integrity and drivebusiness success through innovation. Founded in 1970, ANSYS employs more than2,600 professionals, many of them expert in engineering fields such as finiteelement analysis, computational fluid dynamics, electronics and electromagnetics,and design optimization. Headquartered south of Pittsburgh, U.S.A., ANSYS hasmore than 75 strategic sales locations throughout the world with a network ofchannel partners in 40+ countries. Visit www.ansys.comfor more information.

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