Cadence® Spectre® FMC Analysis enables machine learning (ML)-based fast and comprehensive variation analysis using Monte Carlo simulations of complex I/Os, analog/mixed-signal (AMS) and RF blocks, memories, and bit and standard cells while maintaining necessary statistical accuracy. Spectre FMC Analysis is available in both the Spectre X Simulator and the Spectre Accelerated Parallel Simulator (APS) and allows you to distribute Monte Carlo simulation workloads to increase verification throughput.
Spectre Simulation Platform
Cadence® Spectre® FMC Analysis enables machine learning (ML)-based fast and comprehensive variation analysis using Monte Carlo simulations of complex I/Os, analog/mixed-signal (AMS) and RF blocks, memories, and bit and standard cells while maintaining necessary statistical accuracy. Spectre FMC Analysis is available in both the Spectre X Simulator and the Spectre Accelerated Parallel Simulator (APS) and allows you to distribute Monte Carlo simulation workloads to increase verification throughput.
As the industry’s leading solution for balancing high-performance and high-capacity needs with analog accuracy, the Spectre Simulation Platform encompasses multiple engines that let you move quickly and seamlessly between circuit-, block-, and system-level simulation and verification tasks. The platform's foundation is a unified set of technologies shared by all the simulators – the parser, device models, Verilog-A behavioral modeling, input data formats, output data formats, etc. – thereby guaranteeing consistent and accurate evaluation methods and results regardless of the simulator selected.
The Spectre X Simulator delivers best-in-class single-core simulation and solves large-scale verification simulation challenges with up to 10X speed and 5X capacity improvements, as well as scalable and massively parallel simulation for cloud computing.
Spectre Accelerated Parallel Simulator (APS) provides 10X-100X the single-thread performance with out-of-box SPICE accuracy and convergence while enabling high-precision simulation for large, post-layout analog designs and subsystems without compromising accuracy.
The Spectre FX Simulator uses a groundbreaking architecture that employs innovative FastSPICE techniques, including advanced partitioning and RC reduction algorithms, to deliver up to 3X performance with equal or better accuracy versus the latest FastSPICE products.
The complete portfolio is rounded out by Spectre AMS Designer, Cadence’s mixed-signal, mixed-language, mixed-level, functional, behavioral, gate-level, and transistor-level simulator.
In addition to individual engines, Spectre simulation technology is well integrated into other Cadence technology platforms, including Xcelium™ Logic Simulation, Liberate™ Trio Characterization Suite, Legato™ Reliability Solution, Virtuoso® ADE Suite, Voltus™-Fi Custom Power Integrity Solution, and the Virtuoso RF Solution, to provide the industry’s most comprehensive cross-domain simulation solution.
Spectre FMC Analysis
Spectre FMC Analysis uses advanced statistical and ML techniques for complete design space exploration so you can meet IC design yield targets. Achieve the right statistical accuracy with the minimum number of Monte Carlo simulations to ensure designs work on manufactured wafers.
You can run the tool from the command line or from Virtuoso ADE Suite to verify complex I/Os, AMS and RF blocks, and memories. The Virtuoso ADE Suite can also be leveraged for distributed processing of Monte Carlo simulations across a compute farm or cloud.
Spectre FMC Analysis also is available with Liberate Trio Characterization Suite for optimizing bit and standard cells, and Tempus™ Timing Solution for static timing analysis (STA).
It is used with the Spectre X or Spectre APS simulators, integral parts of the Spectre Simulation Platform, and is built on the same infrastructure technology as all members of the Spectre family of simulators.
Benefits
Explore and debug worst-case design failures to avoid expensive design rework by meeting 3-to-6+ sigma yield requirements.
Accuracy and performance
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10X-10,000X speedup compared to traditional brute-force Monte Carlo analysis by minimizing the number of samples needed for accurate high-sigma analysis while still meeting stringent accuracy requirements. - Provides the right balance between accuracy and verification throughput using ML and advanced statistics-based accurate estimation of worst-case samples and yield.
Support for multiple use-models and flows
The Spectre FMC Analysis supports customized user needs by supporting multiple use models and flows for high-sigma analysis on I/Os, AMS and RF blocks, memories, and bit and standard cells.
- Netlist-based command-line flow
- Virtuoso ADE Suite – an industry-leading analog design and simulation environment
- Liberate Trio Characterization Suite
- Tempus Timing Solution for STA
Ease of Use and Debugging
Spectre FMC Analysis’s ML-based technology enables fast exploration and learning of a very large sample space. This allows the designers to quickly identify the worst-case samples to avoid design failures.
- Intuitive use model and fast Monte Carlo analysis with tighter integration with Virtuoso ADE Suite, which enables advanced and easy-to-use debugging, such as viewing consolidated results, waveform analysis, and post-processing for further exploration and debugging
- Sigma sweep lets the designer capture circuit functionality trends from 3-to-6+ sigma
- Quick estimation of distribution moments
- Effectively handles fixed simulation budget and incremental design space exploration
- Provides a clear understanding of device-level top-mismatch contributors and sensitivity analysis of statistical parameters
Scalability
Spectre FMC Analysis offers increased scalability through massively parallel distributed processing capability, scaling up to thousands of cores in a compute farm or the cloud. This enables large sample space exploration to be more efficient for high-sigma analysis and yield verification. Distributed processing can be done with both command line and Virtuoso ADE Suite use models.
In summary, with the Spectre FMC Analysis, the designers accomplish high-yield verification and meet high-sigma analysis requirements much faster and more efficiently without compromising accuracy.
Features
High-sigma Monte Carlo analysis
- Applicable to 3-6 sigma+ applications, includes memory/bit/standard cells, analog, RF, and I/O blocks
Yield estimation
- Determines circuit yield with a fixed user-defined simulation cost
- Quick estimate of yield of the design before getting into a fine-tuned analysis of the worst-case failures through Monte Carlo simulations
Debugging and post-processing features
- Comprehensive exploration of worst-case corners/samples
- Contribution report on circuit parameters
- Statistical moments
Features
- Integration with Liberate Trio Characterization Suite and Tempus Timing Solution
- Supports command line and Virtuoso ADE Suite use models
- Scalable to thousands of cores across compute farm and cloud infrastructure
- Incremental simulation runs for efficient results analysis
- Sigma sweep to help designer capture circuit functionality trends from 3-to-6+ sigma
Specifications
Input formats
- Spectre, SPICE netlist formats
- Verilog-A 2.0
- DSPF/SPF/DPF parasitic formats
- Tcl scripts
- Digital vector and VCD files
Output formats
- PSF and FSDB waveform formats
- Device models
- Same as supported by the Spectre platform
Platforms
- Build OS: RHEL 7.4
- Supported OS: RHEL 8, RHEL 7 (>=RHEL 7.4), SLES 12