Cadence Design Systems, Inc.

Qingyu Lin

Nan Zhang

Patrick O'Halloran

Zhong Fan

Xiao Wang

Kun Zhang

Prabal Kanti Bhattacharya

Yanfei Shen

An approach is disclosed herein for dynamic design switching for high performance mixed signal simulation. Disclosed herein is a new approach to simulation processes that allows for different segments of a design to be swapped out without requiring re-elaboration. This is an improvement over current techniques and decreases the amount of time need to simulate a design. In some embodiments, the technique illustrated herein is combined with an automated triggering mechanism that controls the selection of alternate representations for the same element base on those triggers. In some embodiments a new multiplexor structure is provided that is specifically tailored to solving the present issue.

Method, product, and system for dynamic design switching for high performance mixed signal simulation

A method of reconstructing an emulated circuit layout for graphical display includes receiving a pre-layout circuit including one or more devices and one or more nodes. The method includes generating a Detailed Standard Parasitic Format (DPSF) netlist representing a post-layout circuit. The DPSF netlist includes a plurality of instances representing the one or more devices, the one or more nodes, and one or more parasitic elements not included in the pre-layout circuit. The method includes identifying at least one node of the one or more nodes that is associated with the one or more parasitic elements. The method includes updating the DPSF netlist to associate the one or more parasitic elements with the at least one node. The method includes constructing graphical representation of the post-layout circuit based on the updated DPSF netlist. The method includes causing a display device to display the graphical representation.

Method of reconstruction of post-layout design for graphical display

Disclosed are methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for characterizing electromigration effects in an electronic design. These techniques determine an electrical characteristic at a port of a portion of an electronic design and select a number of frequencies in the frequency domain for the electrical characteristic. Multiple electric currents through a circuit component in the portion may be determined at least by performing a number of analyses for the number of frequencies. An electromigration effect may be characterized for the circuit component by using at least the multiple electric currents.

Method, system, and computer program product for characterizing electromigration effects in an electronic design

Electronic design automation systems, methods, and computer readable media are presented for the generation of power-related connectivity data by an analog simulator (for example, by propagating the power supply data and/or ground data through the circuit components of the analog design schematic). In some embodiments, the verification module determines consistency between different versions of power-related connectivity data, such as: (i) power-related connectivity data from the analog design schematic and (ii) power-related connectivity data from the power-related data characterizing the mixed-signal design. Such verification determines whether the mixed-signal design satisfies the low power specification as expressed in the power-related data characterizing the mixed-signal design.

Transistor level low power verification for mixed signal circuit design

A system, method, and computer program product for determining whether a design for a circuit meets design specifications, to facilitate the provision of a manufacturable description of the circuit. A computer-operated circuit simulation tool reads the design for the circuit and a power specification, and selectively internally creates a network connection and inserts a corresponding connect module in the design, for at least one circuit block having an unsupported signal declared in the power specification. Typically such a circuit block will be an analog block, whether an original analog block or an analog representation of a digital block, and may involve electrical or wreal signal interactions. The simulation tool performs a mixed-signal simulation of the design. Embodiments tangibly output a verification determination from a comparison of the simulated design performance results and the design specifications in order to provide the manufacturable description of the circuit.

Naturally connecting mixed-signal power networks in mixed-signal simulations

Some aspects are directed at methods and systems that directly specifies or uses standardized power data in standardized format(s) in various design tasks for implementing mixed-signal electronic designs by using native process(es) or module(s) of standardized power format framework(s) to evaluate legal signals or expressions to generate the first output and evaluation process(es) or module(s) to evaluate illegal signals or expressions to generate the second output for the design tasks, without using wrappers to encapsulate circuit blocks generating illegal signals and hence disrupt the original design hierarchical structures or using translators to translate illegal signals or expressions into corresponding legal signals or expressions for the standardized power format frameworks. The methods or systems evaluate combinations of legal and illegal signals and expressions by forwarding both the first and second outputs to standardized power format frameworks to use their native process(es) or module(s) to evaluate the combinations.

Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for implementing mixed-signal electronic circuit designs with power data in standardized power formats

A method is provided that comprises a circuit design that includes multiple design blocks; a power intent specification file that defines a power domain within the circuit design and that identifies design instances within the power domain and that defines a control function to selectively transition the defined power domain between multiple respective power supply values; using a digital simulator to simulate operation of the digital representation while using an analog simulator to simulate operation of the analog representation; wherein simulating the digital representation includes transitioning the defined power domain between supply values from among the multiple respective supply values; wherein simulating the analog representation includes periodically storing in a storage location a power supply value currently in use during digital simulation of the digital representation; and wherein simulating the analog representation includes using the stored currently in use power supply value to supply voltage to the analog representation.

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Pleasanton, CA, United States of America

Qingyu Lin