CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

22 September 2008

Implementation Investments

Cambridge Analog Technologies Deploys Cadence Virtuoso IC 6.1.3 for Faster Tapeout of Low-Power Mixed-Signal Chip

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. announced that Cambridge Analog Technologies, Inc. (CAT) has successfully taped out low-power ADCs and digital PLLs using Cadence® Virtuoso® IC 6.1.3, the latest version of the Cadence custom IC platform. CAT, a developer of ultra-low-power high-performance analog integrated circuits, is using Cadence Virtuoso technology to design and verify its leading-edge ADCs and PLLs.

CAT found through its latest tapeout that Cadence® Virtuoso® IC 6.1.3 technology provides significantly greater efficiency throughout the design cycle. Enhancements to the Analog Design Environment boosted the designers’ productivity and effectiveness by up to two times. Deploying the XL and GXL versions of the Virtuoso platform provided flexible access to several solutions that, depending on the type of circuit, increased efficiency from 1.5 to 3 times. And the Virtuoso Spectre® Circuit Simulator, with its recently introduced “turbo” capability, increased simulation speed up to 8 times.

“The Virtuoso IC 6.1.3 technology platform provides us with numerous advantages, including a tighter integrated flow from conceptualization to tapeout,” said Kush Gulati, president, CEO and co-founder of Cambridge Analog Technologies, Inc. “The ease of use that comes about through the use of this technology allows us to proceed more rapidly through our design phase. Enhancements such as the dockable assistant’s flow, tabbing, constraints-driven flow, user interface integration—as well as several other new features for performing various analog design tasks—increased our productivity to meet our aggressive design schedules.”

CAT’s ADCs are used for high-resolution displays, imaging and high-speed wired and wireless communication. The company’s compact PLLs are utilized for high-speed interfaces, general purpose digital clocking, high speed sampling and mixing in communication transceivers.

“The technology CAT develops is important for many key consumer markets, where time to market is everything. As the leader in custom design EDA, our goal is simple—shrink the overall design cycle time,” said Sandeep Mehndiratta, group director for the custom IC platform at Cadence. “Our latest versions of Virtuoso and Spectre were designed with productivity in mind, and we are pleased that CAT is able to experience tangible benefits from the changes.”

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