Legend releases MSIM API as a circuit simulation engine for EDA application integrations

Magma and Legend have tightly integrated the MSIM engine into Magma's software system for enhanced performance and stability

SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 20, 2005 – Legend Design Technology, Inc., a provider of circuit simulation and semiconductor IP characterization software, today announced that MSIM API (Application Program Interface) module as a circuit simulation engine for application software has been released.  MSIM API is a matrix-inversion based circuit simulator module with optimized algorithms and extensive modeling support.

Since MSIM API and application software modules are integrated in one single executable program, the overall system performance, robustness, stability and consistency can be significantly improved. Compared to the stand-alone circuit simulator, MSIM API has the following benefits:

1. Achieving about 5X speed-up through tight integration and removing redundancy

2. Robust because there is no file IO interface during simulation. All operations are through computer memory.

3. Stable because there is no need to set up interfaces and version-controls between application software and stand-alone circuit simulator.

4. Consistent because the same simulator API will be used for all modules over entire application software platform.

MSIM API supports a large collection of models from a full set of foundries, including the variants of BSIM3, BSIM4 and SOI. The key applications cover statistical circuit simulation and design-for-manufacturing (DFM).

In the recently announced “Signoff in the Loop™” system from Magma®, the MSIM API has been adopted as a circuit simulation engine, and successfully integrated into Magma’s RTL-to-GDSII design flow. MSIM API as a simulation engine in design software systems has been well proven by its excellent accuracy, speed and convergence, especially for nanometer designs.

“To enable additional SPICE-level accuracy for timing and signal integrity on critical circuits, Magma’s ‘Signoff in the Loop’ system executes on-the-fly circuit simulations during the RTL-to-GDSII design flow. A conventional interface between standalone software systems is inefficient. Using the MSIM API, Magma and Legend have tightly integrated the MSIM engine into Magma's software system for enhanced performance and stability. This integration has been successfully deployed in design environments,” said Suk Lee, general manager of the Silicon Signoff Business Unit at Magma Design Automation, Inc.

“MSIM API has proven its value as a simulation engine in EDA application software. It can deliver excellent performance, stability and consistency in the product integration. The integrated flow provides excellent quality of results (QoR) for the deep-submicron and nanometer semiconductor designs,” said Dr. You-Pang Wei, president and chief executive officer of Legend Design Technology, Inc.

About Legend

Legend Design Technology Inc. is a leading provider of circuit simulation and semiconductor IP characterization software for SoC designs. With an emphasis on productivity and value, Legend’s CharFlo-Memory! toolset revolutionizes the time-consuming and error-prone processes associated with characterization. MSIM is Legend’s high-accuracy SPICE circuit simulator with great convergence and extensive model support. Turbo-MSIM is Legend’s high-speed and high-capacity circuit simulator ideal for timing and power simulation, and function verification. Both simulators are well designed for nanometer technology challenges, and provide excellent price performance. For more information, visit www.LegendDesign.com.

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MSIM is a registered trademark of Legend Design Technology, Inc. Magma is a registered trademark and Signoff in the Loop is a trademark of Magma Design Auto