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Berkeley
Design Automation Announces Analog FastSPICE RF-
Industry’s First True SPICE Accurate Device Noise Analysis for RF
Circuits
Accurately Analyzes
Nanometer-Scale Effects for Pre-Layout and Post-Layout
RF Circuits
SANTA CLARA,
CA, — December 8, 2009— Berkeley Design Automation, Inc.,
provider of the Analog FastSPICE™ unified circuit verification
platform, today announced Analog FastSPICE RF (AFS RF), the
industry’s first true SPICE accurate device noise analysis for RF
circuits. Available immediately, AFS RF accurately analyzes
nanometer-scale device noise impact for all types of pre-layout and
post-layout circuits, ensuring early insight into its impact on
performance, power, and area.
Prior to AFS RF, designers have had to use limited-spectrum RF tools
that can only approximate device noise impact on RF circuits. Such
approximations are increasingly inaccurate with decreasing process
geometries, often becoming grossly inaccurate in nanometer-scale
circuits. Particularly sensitive are circuits with sharp transitions
(e.g., switched-capacitor filters, charge pumps, and dividers),
high-frequency circuits (e.g., RF front-end blocks), and oscillators.
Without accurate analysis, designers have to include expensive design
margin or risk missing specifications in silicon.
Utilizing the industry’s first full-spectrum device noise
analysis engine, Analog FastSPICE RF provides true SPICE accuracy every
run. For complex circuits it is also 5 to 10 times faster than
traditional RF tools that can only approximate device noise effects.
AFS RF key features include:
• Device Noise Analysis Advisor (DNA Advisor) to
characterize DNA requirements
• High-capacity periodic steady state (PSS) for
>100K-element post-layout circuits
• Full-spectrum periodic noise analysis (pnoise)
that provides true SPICE accuracy
• Full-spectrum total oscillator device noise
analysis with phase and amplitude noise
• Harmonic balance (HB) for fast single-tone
analysis of moderately nonlinear circuits
"We have been using the AFS Platform for the last two years for
full-circuit transceiver verification and more recently transient noise
analysis of our analog/RF blocks," said Alan Wong, Head of IC Design at
Toumaz Technology. "AFS RF delivers full-spectrum periodic noise
analysis, and does not trade off accuracy for performance. AFS RF
allows us to analyse our pre-layout and post-layout RF blocks,
delivering true SPICE accuracy and 5x-10x speed-up over traditional RF
analysis tools."
"Full-spectrum periodic noise analysis is critical for accurate
characterization of device noise in nanometer analog/RF designs." said
Dr. Boris Murmann, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical
Engineering at Stanford University, and renowned mixed-signal design
expert. "Without accurate device noise analysis, designers need to add
significant margin to ensure performance. This can be very expensive.
For example, adding just 0.5 bit of margin (3dB SNR) in a noise-limited
circuit will double the required power."
The Analog FastSPICE Platform (AFS Platform) is the industry’s
only unified circuit verification platform for analog, mixed-signal,
and RF design. It always delivers true SPICE accurate results, while
providing 5x-20x higher performance than traditional SPICE, >10
million-element capacity, and the industry’s only comprehensive
device noise analysis. The AFS Platform is a single executable that
uses advanced algorithms and numerical analysis to rapidly solve the
full-circuit matrix and original device equations without any
shortcuts. The AFS Platform includes licenses for AFS Nano SPICE
simulation, AFS circuit simulation, AFS Co-Simulation, AFS Transient
Noise Analysis, and AFS RF Analysis.
"Competitive analog, RF, and mixed-signal designs require pushing the
limits of performance, power, area, and efficiency- and our customers
tell us device noise in RF is becoming a killer,”said Ravi
Subramanian, president and CEO of Berkeley Design Automation.
“With the introduction of AFS RF, we are now proud to deliver the
industry’s first full-spectrum periodic analysis technology for
complex analog and RF circuits. Extensive validation of this
breakthrough technology from our customers further reinforces our
strong track-record in delivering silicon-accurate analysis and
industry-best diagnostics for nanometer analog and RF designs.”
About
Berkeley
Design Automation
Berkeley Design Automation, Inc. (BDA)
is the recognized leader in advanced analog, mixed-signal, and RF
(AMS/RF) verification. The BDA Analog FastSPICE unified circuit
verification platform (AFS Platform) combines the accuracy,
performance, and capacity needed to verify GHz designs in
nanometer-scale silicon. Over seventy companies, including 15 of the
world's top 20 semiconductor companies, use the AFS Platform to
efficiently verify AMS/RF circuits. Founded in 2003, the company has
received several industry awards in recognition of its technology
leadership and impact on the electronics industry. The company is
privately held and backed by Woodside Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners,
Panasonic Corporation, NTT Corporation, IT-Farm Corporation, and MUFJ
Capital. For more information, visit http://www.berkeley-da.com.
Analog FastSPICE, AFS Nano, and WaveCrave are trademarks of Berkeley
Design Automation, Inc. Berkeley Design and BDA are registered
trademarks of Berkeley Design Automation, Inc. Any other trademarks or
trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
PR for Berkeley
Design
Automation – Cayenne Communication LLC
Michelle
Clancy, 252-940-0981, michelle.clancy@cayennecom.com
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