Magma's Titan mixed-signal platform supports TSMC's 65- and 40-nm iPDKs

SAN JOSE, USA: Magma Design Automation Inc., a provider of chip design software, announced that TSMC has qualified Magma's Titan mixed-signal platform to support the interoperability and accuracy requirements of the TSMC 40-nanometer (nm) Interoperable Process Design Kit (iPDK).

Titan was qualified to support the TSMC 65-nm iPDK in 2009. iPDKs eliminate the need to develop and use multiple proprietary PDKs and design databases, enabling full reuse of design data. The combination of Titan's advanced capabilities and the accurate process models and process data provided in the iPDK provides designers with the fastest path to 65- and 40-nm mixed-signal silicon.

In addition to Titan support for 65-nm and 40-nm iPDKs, a number of key Magma products were previously qualified to support TSMC's interoperable EDA technology files. Quartz RC is qualified for the 65-, 45- and 40-nm interoperable interconnect extraction (iRCX) format, QuickCap NX is qualified for TSMC's 40-nm iRCX, and Quartz LVS is qualified for TSMC's 40-nm interoperable layout-versus-schematic (iLVS) formats.

"The unmatched level of collaboration between TSMC and EDA vendors demonstrates mutual commitment to helping customers achieve first-time silicon success," said Tom Quan, deputy director of design service marketing at TSMC. "Magma has played an important role in validating interoperability and the quality of the iPDKs and we're pleased to certify that Titan meets TSMC's iPDK quality standards."

"Mixed-signal system-on-chip (SoC) designs allow designers to incorporate significantly more functionality onto a single chip, but are much more difficult to implement than a strictly digital or analog chip," said Anirudh Devgan, general manager of Magma's Custom Design Business Unit.

"By working together to validate the iPDK with Titan, Magma and TSMC make it much easier for designers to adopt best-in-class tools and to accelerate the mixed-signal SoC design flow without any loss of accuracy or performance."