CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

21 May 2007

Events News

Magma Design Automation and PDF Solutions® to Debut Chip Yield Simulation Solution at the Design Automation Conference

Magma ® Design Automation and PDF Solutions, Inc. have collaborated to deliver Quartz Yield, powered by pDfx® SignOff, a new advanced yield simulator that enables accurate and systematic yield improvement and decreases product costs in integrated circuit manufacturing. Quartz Yield is the first commercial yield enhancement product to combine physical verification with accurately quantified yield modeling.

Leveraging Magma's advanced Quartz DRC physical verification engine and PDF Solutions' yield modeling and simulation technology, the new Quartz Yield product comprehends the complex interdependencies of the industry's most comprehensive set of random and systematic layout and process interactions, including many that have previously been described to designers only through qualitative recommended design rules. This unique solution is designed to accurately estimate yield impact of specific design layout attributes, and provide quantitative and visual feedback to enable designers to minimize yield loss. Quartz Yield generates quantified guidance that can be used within the Magma IC implementation flow or with third-party digital and custom design flows for true co-optimization of significant yield effects. Magma and PDF Solutions will demonstrate how this powerful solution delivers significantly enhanced yields and reduced development costs in booths 4578 and 676 at the Design Automation Conference, June 3-8 in San Diego.

"Currently chip designers are flooded with a sea of information regarding potential yield problems," said John Lee, general manager of Magma's Physical Verification Business Unit. "Designers require a tool that allows them to focus their efforts on design content while using model-based optimization to ensure the manufacturability of the design layout. We are excited about the opportunity to combine Magma's advanced Quartz DRC with PDF Solutions' silicon-proven yield simulation technology to deliver this solution."

"We're pleased to continue our work with Magma to provide customers the technology they need to achieve superior yields," said Dr. John Kibarian, chief executive officer of PDF Solutions. "Magma and PDF Solutions are both driven to minimize our customers' good die costs, and we believe a successful solution has been achieved by integrating PDF Solutions' yield modeling technology with best-in-class design solutions from technology leaders such as Magma. Our technology has been honed through characterization of more than 30 processes at 90nm and below in our process development and yield ramp business. We are committed to our continuing EDA partnerships to improve customers' product yields in a manner that cannot be achieved through process improvements alone."

About Quartz Yield

Based on Magma's engines from Quartz DRC and Quartz LVS physical verification products, Quartz Yield provides first-in-class scalability and performance and integrates with any design flow. Through collaboration with PDF Solutions, Quartz Yield leverages yield models and includes yield simulation capabilities based on PDF Solutions' Yield Ramp Simulator® (YRS®) software. Quartz Yield is currently in limited release.

About PDF Solutions

PDF Solutions, Inc. (is a leading provider of process-design integration technologies and services for manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs). PDF Solutions enables semiconductor companies to create IC designs that can be more easily manufactured using manufacturing processes that are more capable. By simulating deep submicron product and process interactions, the PDF solution offers clients reduced time to market, increased IC yield and performance, and enhanced product reliability and profitability. PDF Solutions also offers the industry-leading Yield Management System (YMS) software, dataPOWER®, and Fault Detection and Classification (FDC) software, Maestria®, to enhance yield improvement and production control activities at leading fabs around the world. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., PDF Solutions operates worldwide with additional offices in China, Europe and Japan. For the company's latest news and information, visit http://www.pdf.com/

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