Synopsys HSPICE Simulator Accelerates ARM's 45-Nanometer Physical IP Development

-- Synopsys, Inc., a world leader in semiconductor design software and a member of the ARM Connected Community, today announced that significant performance improvements in the latest version of its HSPICE® simulator enabled ARM to accelerate delivery of highly optimized memory and standard cell building blocks for systems-on-chip (SOCs). The 2007 versions of the HSPICE simulator, the gold standard for accurate circuit simulation, offer significant transient algorithm, netlist parsing, model performance and convergence improvements over earlier releases. These enhancements help enable faster, more accurate simulation. ARM relies on fast, accurate circuit simulation to quickly characterize its comprehensive physical IP across its complete set of foundry and process nodes.

"As the characterization complexity of Physical IP at advanced process nodes escalates dramatically, significant improvements in the performance of HSPICE are necessary to reach closure. Using the latest version of the HSPICE simulator, we are now able, on average, to get a seven times faster throughput on typical standard cell and memory circuit workloads than we did with earlier versions of the HSPICE simulator," said Dr. John Goodenough, director, Design Technology at ARM. "These new advances in HSPICE's performance have enabled us to combat the increasing simulation and accuracy needed to deliver highly accurate physical IP on advanced technology nodes, such as 45 nanometers, to our customers."

"The ARM use of HSPICE for memory and standard cell characterization is a clear indication of Synopsys' strength in providing both the highest silicon accuracy and leading runtime performance," said Paul Lo, senior vice president of Synopsys' Analog Mixed Signal Group. "Increasing design complexity continues to drive the need for silicon-accurate simulation, and the Synopsys AMS development team is focused on researching and developing ever faster simulation technology for both single CPU and parallel simulation applications."

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) is a world leader in electronic design automation (EDA) software for semiconductor design. The company delivers technology-leading system and semiconductor design and verification platforms, IC manufacturing and yield optimization solutions, semiconductor intellectual property and design services to the global electronics market. These solutions enable the development and production of complex integrated circuits and electronic systems. Through its comprehensive solutions, Synopsys addresses the key challenges designers and manufacturers face today, including power management, accelerated time to yield and system-to-silicon verification. Synopsys is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has more than 60 offices located throughout North America, Europe, Japan and Asia. Visit Synopsys online at http://www.synopsys.com/.