Product category:
Design and Development Software
News Release from: TSMC
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 05 June 2007
Initiative targets accuracy improvements
Design programme aims to achieve new levels of accuracy for advanced process technologies.
The TSMC Active Accuracy Assurance initiative is a comprehensive design-based programme that aims to achieve new levels of accuracy for TSMC's advanced process technologies The initiative provides an on-going evolution of accuracy standards for all stages of the design and manufacturing value chain
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 17 Oct 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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The new set of standards are developed through careful characterisation, validation and co-optimisation of critical subcircuit building blocks that are closely coupled with TSMC's process technology.
TSMC design ecosystem partners who comply with these standards can provide assurance to designers that they can optimise their designs by reducing guard banding and avoiding overdesign.
Designers working with EDA tools compliant with the initiative increase their prospects for first-time silicon success with lower costs and quicker time to market.
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TSMC's Active Accuracy Assurance initiative was started by data-mining TSMC's own vast accumulation of manufacturing data.
TSMC shares the key results from this data bank with EDA vendors and other ecosystem partners, who can then develop their own methodology in compliance with accuracy assurance standards.
IP and library partners can use this data to enhance their IP performance, shorten their IP development cycle and deliver higher quality products to meet accuracy assurance standards.
Design service partners in the same way can ensure that their service output complies with standards that eventually will deliver consistent quality benefits to customers.
"TSMC's Active Accuracy Assurance initiative provides higher standards of accuracy that are critical for achieving silicon success with 45nm and other advanced process technologies", says Kuo Wu, Deputy Director of Design Service Marketing at TSMC.
"The initiative provides assurance to designers that they can maximise the performance of their designs without having to compensate or 'guard band' for unforeseen variations in the manufacturing process".
TSMC's Active Accuracy Assurance initiative is a broad programme that encompasses all components of the design ecosystem.
It provides standards of accuracy for all TSMC partners, including EDA vendors, IP providers and library developers, and Design Centre Alliance (DCA) partners.
TSMC applies these same standards to tools, building blocks and technologies, including TSMC's Reference Flow 8.0, design for manufacturability (DFM) tools, process design kits (PDK) and design support and backend services.
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