UMC Qualifies Cadence Virtuoso LDE Analyzer for its 28HPCU Process

SAN JOSE, Calif., Apr. 13, 2016 – 

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS) today announced that Cadence Virtuoso Layout-Dependent Effects (LDE) Analyzer has been qualified by United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) to support its 28HPC^U process technology. With the rollout of a new UMC 28HPC^U LDE kit, UMC customers can use the Cadence solution to mitigate LDE in custom/analog designs, reducing post-layout iterations by up to 2X and accelerating design convergence by up to 40 percent.

S.C. Chien, senior vice president and head of the IP Development and Design Support division at UMC, said, "We are pleased to add the Cadence Virtuoso LDE Analyzer to our 28HPC^U design support portfolio. Transistor device characteristics vary with context, placement and density, and the Cadence LDE kit has allowed our customers who create designs using the 28HPC^U process to seamlessly bridge the gap between their intended and expected results. This saves customers several steps in the design process to help them accelerate their designs to the production phase."

The collaboration between UMC and Cadence ensures that all of the following capabilities included with Virtuoso LDE Analyzer are fully enabled for the 28HPC^U reference flow:

• LDE-aware simulation: Allows designers to detect the LDE impact early on by creating a simulation netlist with LDE from a layout that does not need to be layout vs. schematic- (LVS-) clean or even fully placed
• LDE electrical constraints: Enable the early detection of mismatches, due to LDE, without having to complete the layout or run simulation
• Layout LDE analysis: Flags large variations in a transistor's electrical characteristics between schematic assumptions and actual layout with LDE
• Contribution guidelines: Report the contribution of each LDE for every violation identified in the LDE analysis to help designers understand the root cause of the variation
• LDE fixing guidelines: Generate and display actionable layout modifications that, when implemented, reduce the LDE impact on the transistor's electrical characteristics

For more information about Cadence Virtuoso LDE Analyzer, visit www.cadence.com/news/virtuosolde.

By using the UMC 28HPC^U LDE kit, customers can take timely action to correct potential design issues. For example, designers can simulate LDE from a partial layout to integrate the LDE impact on device performance. In addition, they can check the consistency of device electrical properties without having to run simulation. They can also set LDE electrical matching constraints and run a single-click matching check during layout to ensure transistors match. Finally, designers can perform root-cause analysis early to find and fix differences before these differences cause the simulation to fail.

"We're collaborating with UMC to enable customers to diminish layout-dependent effects in custom/analog designs, and we've already been getting positive feedback from our mutual customers," said Dr. Anirudh Devgan, senior vice president and general manager of the Digital & Signoff Group and the System & Verification Group at Cadence. "UMC customers using the Cadence Virtuoso LDE Analyzer no longer need to wait for a complete LVS-clean layout to include LDE in simulation, so they can be much more efficient."

About Cadence
Cadence enables global electronic design innovation and plays an essential role in the creation of today's integrated circuits and electronics. Customers use Cadence software, hardware, IP and services to design and verify advanced semiconductors, consumer electronics, networking and telecommunications equipment, and computer systems. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with sales offices, design centers and research facilities around the world to serve the global electronics industry. More information about the company, its products and its services is available at www.cadence.com.