CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

29 May 2007

Implementation Investments

Synopsys IC Compiler Used By NEC Electronics for Tapeout of Gigahertz Processor

Synopsys, Inc. announced that NEC Electronics Corporation has taped out its latest high-performance processor using Synopsys' IC Compiler next-generation place-and-route solution. Targeted at the high-end computer infrastructure market, this processor uses multiple cores operating at more than a gigahertz each, nearly double the speed of the previous version. IC Compiler, with its Extended Physical Synthesis (XPS) technology, played a critical role in achieving the gigahertz performance while keeping power dissipation in the range of a few microwatts per gate.

"We view IC Compiler's XPS technology as the natural evolution of physical synthesis pioneered by Synopsys," said Shinichi Iwamoto, associate vice president, Microcomputer Operations Unit, NEC Electronics. "We were able to adopt IC Compiler very easily and used it extensively during the prototyping phase of the design. IC Compiler's high accuracy gave our designers critical insight to fine-tune optimizations that helped us achieve our gigahertz performance target."

Used in conjunction with one of the most advanced RTL synthesis solutions, Design Compiler® topographical technology, IC Compiler boosted designer productivity by enabling a highly correlated flow between front-end design and physical implementation. IC Compiler's support for composite current source (CCS) models provided the accuracy necessary for this design by using current waveforms instead of delay and slew values to drive optimizations. Common technology such as cell delay and wire-delay calculation further improved productivity by enabling high correlation with Synopsys' industry standard PrimeTime® timing sign-off solution.

For leading-edge designs, particularly at gigahertz clock rates, power dissipation becomes a dominant constraint. IC Compiler's comprehensive support for leakage and dynamic power optimization allowed NEC Electronics to complete the design at the assigned budget.

"Very tight correlation between synthesis and physical implementation enables customers to minimize design time and achieve their aggressive performance goals," said Antun Domic, senior vice president and general manager, Synopsys Implementation Group. "The combination of IC Compiler and Design Compiler topographical technology is increasingly the foundation for customers' standard design flows, delivering higher productivity and time-to- market benefits."

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