Product category:
Design and Development Software
News Release from: Synplicity | Subject: Amplify ISSP Pro
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 12 July 2005
Software specialises in structured ASIC
design
An enhanced version of the Amplify physical synthesis software suite features additional customisations for NEC Electronics' ISSP structured ASIC devices.
Synplicity has released an enhanced version of its Amplify physical synthesis software that features additional customisations for NEC Electronics' ISSP structured ASIC devices The new features in Synplicity's Amplify ISSP Pro software enable customers to achieve the highest quality of results for their ISSP devices - in overall area, placement and timing
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 8 Jun 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Specifically, Synplicity made many additions to its embedded clock tree synthesis approach for ISSP devices, whereby customers can leverage the technology to obtain better knowledge of the device's clock network and avoid design iterations.
Additionally, the software features several other enhancements that help enable users to meet their ISSP performance goals in the shortest amount of time, including the new Affinity Placer and a floorplan input checker.
With these improvements, Synplicity expects to continue to deliver the most advanced technology for structured and platform ASIC design.
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"NEC Electronics' ISSP devices offer customers a unique structured ASIC option", said Andy Haines, Vice President of Marketing at Synplicity.
"For more than two years, Synplicity has worked closely with the leading structured/platform ASIC vendors in order to offer support for their unique architectures by delivering best-in-class design tools".
"Moving forward, we are committed to continuing this trend by offering improvements to our structured/platform ASIC physical synthesis solutions".
"With our Amplify ISSP Pro software, NEC Electronics' ISSP customers will be able to continue using Synplicity's familiar, easy-to-use physical synthesis software in their ISSP design flow to achieve the results they have come to expect from Synplicity".
The Amplify ISSP Pro software offers ISSP customers several unique technological innovations that specifically target NEC Electronics' ISSP architecture, including embedded clock-tree synthesis technology.
With a customised embedded clock-driven memory placement approach in the Amplify ISSP Pro software, users can generate optimal legal placement for embedded ISSP memories.
In addition, by understanding the delays within the embedded clock network the Amplify ISSP software can perform setup and hold analysis and fix-up.
This feature eliminates design iterations by accounting for the impact of the clock network on the floorplan and timing prior to handoff.
In the Amplify ISSP Pro software, both register and memory placement are done based on a preexisting knowledge of the ISSP architecture.
Included in the Amplify ISSP Pro software is the new Affinity Placer that provides users a preplacement constraint mechanism to keep conflicting paths from interfering with each other's performance.
The Affinity Placer can yield significantly higher quality of results for circuit placement by specifically addressing the high speed I/Os offered in the ISSP product.
The software also includes a floorplan input checker in order to check the quality of the floorplan and consistency of information against ISSP-specific rules before performing a physical synthesis run.
The floorplan input checker validates the input and makes sure it is a "legal" floorplan for the ISSP master before committing it to physical synthesis.
This feature enables users to catch design problems much earlier in the design flow and reduce the number of iterations.
The Amplify ISSP Pro software also enables the placement of firm IP through the software's floorplan editor.
If the core is placed in an illegal position, the floorplan editor will automatically snap the core to the nearest legal placement.
Specifically for ISSP90, the timing delay estimation model has been enhanced to achieve better timing correlation.
The combination of these new features and overall improvements in the software provides up to 10% better timing results and up to 30% improved runtime compared with previous versions of the Amplify ISSP software.
The Amplify ISSP Pro software is available now.
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