MediaTek adopts Mentor Graphics Calibre PERC as its ESD and circuit reliability verification solution

WILSONVILLE, USA: Mentor Graphics Corp. announced that MediaTek, Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, has adopted the Calibre PERC product as its solution for electrical rule checking (ERC) to help ensure comprehensive electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection and increase overall product reliability.

The Calibre PERC solution increases the level of automation and accuracy of circuit verification, and reduces the number of false errors compared to MediaTek’s prior approach.

MediaTek is seeing significant benefits from Mentor’s advanced ERC technology and support. Because Calibre PERC is purpose-built for electrical rule checking, it handles MediaTek’s specific ERC challenges more comprehensively and accurately with less manual intervention. It also provides MediaTek with more data do diagnose the root cause of ESD failures and other reliability issues.

In addition to checking the existence and proper connectivity of ESD protection devices, MediaTek is also using the Calibre PERC product to measure and verify parasitic resistance between power clamping cells and power/ground bumps along potential ESD paths. They also use the tool to verify correct placement of on-chip ESD components within multiple voltage domains, and maximum geometrical distance between ESD diodes and receiver gate NMOS/PMOS devices.

“Calibre PERC continues to demonstrate its flexibility in delivering a range of circuit verification applications that customers have previously had to address with ‘one-off’ tools, scripts and other partial solutions,” said Joseph Sawicki, vice president and general manager of Mentor’s Design-to-Silicon division. “Calibre PERC provides a comprehensive, high capacity, production proven circuit reliability solution that is fully interoperable with the ubiquitous Calibre nm platform.”