SAN JOSE, Calif., June 10, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Magma(r) Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA), a provider of chip design software, announced today that QuickCap(r) NX has been certified to support the parasitic extraction and modeling accuracy requirements of the TSMC iRCX format for integrated circuits (ICs) targeting 65-nanometer (nm) and 40-nm processes. With the consistent data provided by the iRCX format, designers can use Magma QuickCap NX to extract accurate parasitic-capacitance values based on the truest 3D representation of the physical circuit. Accurate capacitance values are critical for calculating many properties of chip performance, including capacitive crosstalk, RC delay time and power consumption. With QuickCap NX and the iRCX format, designers can more accurately predict IC performance prior to manufacturing, allowing them to either make modifications or proceed with confidence in achieving silicon success.
The TSMC iRCX is an interoperable interconnect modeling data format that ensures the accuracy of resistance/capacitance (RC) extractors, electromigration (EM) tools, power integrity analysis tools and electromagnetic simulators. iRCX is the first of several interoperable EDA interface formats co-developed between TSMC and its design tool partners as part of the TSMC Open Innovation Platform(tm) (OIP).
"At the 40-nm and 65-nm nodes, the ability to generate accurate interconnect models at a high frequency can create a bottleneck in the design flow," said Tom Quan, deputy director, Design Service Marketing at TSMC. "By working together to qualify QuickCap NX for TSMC iRCX format, TSMC and Magma ensure designers have the most accurate models, breaking design flow bottlenecks and enabling first-pass design success."
"TSMC has been using QuickCap NX as the standard deviation comparison target for RC extraction tools on special pattern structures and real design samples," said Premal Buch, general manager of Magma's Design Implementation Business Unit. "The TSMC qualification of QuickCap NX for the iRCX format provides our mutual customers with further confidence that Magma's 3D field solver is the industry gold standard for parasitic extraction."
QuickCap NX: The Gold Standard in Parasitic Extraction
QuickCap NX is used by major semiconductor companies as the reference standard for parasitic extraction. It is a highly accurate 3D extractor that precisely models advanced process effects such as optimal proximity correction (OPC), chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) and trapezoidal wires. QuickCap NX is proven to closely correlate to exact analytical solutions and silicon measurements, delivering capacitance values that are within 1 percent of silicon measurements.
It provides dial-in accuracy and error-bounds reporting on each net, giving the user complete control and trust in the accuracy of results. Leading foundries have validated QuickCap NX's ability to more closely match silicon measurements. By taking process effects into account, the average difference between QuickCap NX capacitance values and actual silicon measurements has been reduced from 9.79 percent to just 0.11 percent.
QuickCap NX in the Magma Flow
QuickCap NX can be used for post-layout analysis in the Magma flow. QuickCap technology is also incorporated into the Talus(r) physical design software system to support highly accurate timing and noise analysis during chip implementation. It is used to compute the highly accurate capacitance rules used within Talus and the Quartz(tm) RC sign-off extraction tool.
About Magma
Magma's electronic design automation (EDA) software is used to create complex, high-performance integrated circuits (ICs) for cellular telephones, electronic games, WiFi, MP3 players, DVD/digital video, networking, automotive electronics and other electronic applications. Magma products for IC implementation, analog/mixed-signal design, analysis, physical verification, circuit simulation and characterization are recognized as embodying the best in semiconductor technology, providing the world's top chip companies the "Fastest Path to Silicon."(tm) Magma maintains headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and offices throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Asia and India. Magma's stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Visit Magma Design Automation on the Web at www.magma-da.com.
Magma, QuickCap and Talus are registered trademarks and "Fastest Path to Silicon" and Quartz are trademarks of Magma Design Automation Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements that QuickCap provides fast, accurate capacitance extraction are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including, but not limited to Magma's ability to keep pace with rapidly changing technology; and the company's products' abilities to produce desired results; and TSMC and Magma's decisions to continue working together. Further discussion of these and other potential risk factors may be found in Magma's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov). Magma undertakes no additional obligation to update these forward-looking statements.