SAN JOSE, Calif., May 31, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Magma(r) Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA), a provider of semiconductor design software, today announced the availability of an integrated IC implementation reference flow for UMC's (NYSE:UMC) (TSE:2303) advanced 65-nanometer (nm) process. Similar reference flows are already available for 90-, 130- and 180-nanometer (nm). All reference flows are based on Blast Create(tm), Blast Plan Pro(tm), Blast Fusion(r), Blast Rail(tm) and Blast Power(tm) and enable designers to address nanometer design considerations during implementation and within a single environment, maximizing quality of results (QoR) in terms of timing, area and power, while reducing turnaround time.
UMC's validation of the Magma flow, which included rigorous QoR testing on actual designs, ensures that mutual customers have a streamlined path from RTL to silicon for their 65-nm chips.
"UMC has developed one of the industry's most comprehensive reference flow packages to help our customers effectively design for a variety of applications," said Ken Liou, director of the IP and Design Support division at UMC. "We worked closely with Magma during the development of this 65nm reference flow to ensure that our process technology and their software address many of the requirements that designers are facing at 65-nm."
"We're pleased that our software continues to be part of UMC's foundry solutions," said Kam Kittrell, general manager of Magma's Design Implementation Business Unit. "Our ongoing collaboration to provide mutual customers with validated reference flows highlights the Magma software's ability to address nanometer design challenges."
About the Magma-UMC RTL-to-GDSII Reference Flow
The Magma-UMC RTL-to-GDSII reference flow includes required scripts and documentation to enable Magma users to ramp up to UMC's advanced 65-nm process technology and deliver silicon quickly. The reference flow utilizes Magma's Blast Create, Blast Plan Pro, Blast Fusion, Blast Rail and Blast Power products to deliver complete timing closure without iterations. Multiple threshold voltage (multi-Vt) libraries are used to reduce leakage current and reduce chip power consumption while meeting timing requirements. In addition, automatic power-grid synthesis is used to automatically generate power grids based on specific constraints, creating power meshes that meet the user's specified constraints and save valuable routing resources in the floorplan. Magma's advanced placement engines complete all the standard-cell placement in the design with features like scan-chain reordering, comprehensive congestion analysis and timing-driven placement.
Magma's clock tree synthesis constructs a minimum-skew clock tree. With the GUI clock-tree browser, users can monitor the clock tree implementation during the flow and can select the correct clock tree structures for their design. After clock tree synthesis is completed, Magma's advanced routing engines complete the routing, including signal and power routing, based on the user's specified routing rules. With Magma's integrated IC implementation solution and its unified data structure as the basis for the reference flow, UMC and Magma customers can deliver high-quality results in terms of timing, area, power, signal integrity and reliability while minimizing the design cycle.
Availability
Please contact your UMC customer service representative to gain access to the reference flow kit. Included with the kit is a summary document describing the flow, run scripts, a tutorial design, design rule Volcano(tm) and test case results.
About Magma
Magma's software for integrated circuit (IC) design is recognized as embodying the best in semiconductor technology, enabling the world's top chip companies to "Design Ahead of the Curve."(tm) Magma provides EDA software for IC implementation, analysis, physical verification and characterization. Magma products are used by the world's leading engineers to create complex, high-performance ICs for consumer electronics, mobile communications, computing and networking applications, while at the same time reducing design time and costs. Magma is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with offices around the world. Magma's stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Visit Magma Design Automation on the Web at www.magma-da.com.
Blast Fusion and Magma are registered trademarks, and Blast Power, Blast Create, Blast Plan Pro, Blast Rail "Design Ahead of the Curve" and Volcano are trademarks of Magma Design Automation Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks or 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 the Magma-UMC reference flow minimizes power consumption and reduces turnaround time and about the features and benefits of Magma software and UMC process technology 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 and UMC's abilities to keep pace with rapidly changing technology, the companies' decisions to continue working together and the companies' products' abilities to produce desired results. 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.
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