Sigrity's 8.1 Production Release Information

December 16, 2008

Sigrity is continuing to improve throughput, accuracy and visualization with the introduction of version 8.1 which is available for immediate download for Windows and Linux customers. Users will see enhancements to SPEED2000, PowerSI, PowerDC and Broadband SPICE with 8.1. There are also improvements to XtractIM, OptimizePI and UPD as part of recent software updates.

There are significant enhancements in 8.1 including the ability to more flexibly save and reuse set-up information in SPD files. Buy retaining this set-up information separately from design files, simulation activities are simplified. As seen below, PowerDC users will benefit from automation that pinpoints the best location for a remote sense. This single optimization leads to an improvement of between 10 and 20% in DC margin efficiency. This improvement is evident even in designs where the sense position has been selected by an experienced power engineer relying on judgment alone. This DC improvement provides over all margin head room that can make the handling of AC noise a little easier.

ENHANCEMENT SUMMARY

Following is a quick feature summary. Software is available for electronic download at Sigrity's Customer Sign-In area (SPDnet). Primary user contacts have account user name and password information. Password retrieval is available at the site.

SpeedXP (8.1 Production Release)

Overall SpeedXP capability:

• SPD file reuse ... one-step import to reuse any portion of a previous design file to simplify setup and reduce simulation time
• 2D layer viewing enhancements ... new dim function to highlight key elements of complex designs, smoother zooming and scrolling
• Wirebond support refinements ... support for multiple wirebond diameters and materials within a design
• EMC/EMI calculation viewing ... results can be seen as either peak or RMS values and saving near field data for multi-frequency simulations is easier
• Usability options ... design trimming for targeted simulations, simplified option menu, direct launch of popular translators, software update notification

SPEED2000 users will see:

• Simultaneous results viewing ... animated time domain simulations are seen in a clear multi-window environment along with the 3D structure
• S-Parameter simulation enhancements ... data in Sigrity's BNP format or Touchstone can be effectively simulated going beyond HSPICE RFM format support

PowerSI users will see:

• Narrow shape handling refinements ... automatic detection of narrow shape segments with compensation for fringing effects for greater accuracy
• Adaptive Frequency Sweep (AFS) enhancements ... designs with many ports benefit from improved calculations
• Network parameter display improvements ... visualization for port reduction, renormalization, passivity enforcement and differential pair editing

PowerDC users will see:

• Sense location optimization ... automation to pinpoint the best location resulting in voltage margin improvements
• Power density plots ... visualization for thermal analysis
• Line width calculation ... automatic calculations for voltage drop based on power line widths
• Results export ... saving results in Excel or ASCII to support further analysis

Broadband SPICE users will see:

• Touchstone export options ... additional files are exported to support S-parameter fitting in both precision and passivity modes

XtractIM / SpeedPKG Suite (2.1 Production)

Improvements to XtractIM in the newest production release:

• Quick package electrical performance assessment ... streamlined power/ground analysis, reporting and visualization
• Net Loop inductance capabilities ... new approach to find die side package issues and pinpoint ground net return current problems
• Per pin resistance and inductance features ... quick identification of package design defects

OptimizePI / SpeedPCB Suite (1.2 Beta)

Improvements to OptimizePI in the newest release:

• Optimization targeting ... single click targeting for performance, decap count, area or cost
• Decap visualization ... removed decaps, location specific loop inductance and capacitance spread around devices can be observed
• Impedance targeting ... users can specify frequency specific impedance levels and define other "hard constraints" to meet objectives
• Peak resonance handling ... new linear-based approach in addition to logarithm based method for reducing peaks
• Usability options ... automated pre-checks for open and short conditions before simulation starts

Unified Package Designer (8.1 Production)

Improvements to UPD in the newest production release:

• Interactive editing enhancements ... streamlined push and shove of traces and vias
• Figure editing enhancements ... simplified handling of multiple arcs
• High speed design ... skew monitoring enhancements
• Package extraction link ... automated XtractIM launch from inside UPD