Cadence® Virtuoso® ADE Assembler is an advanced design and simulation environment that extends the capabilities of Virtuoso ADE Explorer, adding all the tests needed to fully verify a design over all operational, process, and environmental conditions. As more analysis is required, users can take incremental advantage of the Virtuoso Variation Option to do more advanced statistical analysis and optimization on their design. Part of the Virtuoso ADE Suite, Virtuoso ADE Assembler is designed to work independently and with the Virtuoso ADE Explorer and Virtuoso ADE Verifier to provide a cohesive and complete design solution for analog, custom, RF, and mixed-signal ICs.
Overview of Virtuoso ADE Suite
Cadence® Virtuoso® ADE Assembler is an advanced design and simulation environment that extends the capabilities of Virtuoso ADE Explorer, adding all the tests needed to fully verify a design over all operational, process, and environmental conditions. As more analysis is required, users can take incremental advantage of the Virtuoso Variation Option to do more advanced statistical analysis and optimization on their design. Part of the Virtuoso ADE Suite, Virtuoso ADE Assembler is designed to work independently and with the Virtuoso ADE Explorer and Virtuoso ADE Verifier to provide a cohesive and complete design solution for analog, custom, RF, and mixed-signal ICs.
The Virtuoso ADE Suite enables designers to fully explore, analyze, and verify a design against design goals so that they can maintain design intent throughout the design cycle. As the industry’s leading solution for analog simulation control and management, the Virtuoso ADE Suite allows users to flexibly select the product(s) that best support their design goals as they move through the design flow.
The Virtuoso ADE Explorer provides a quick entry into the analysis process with easy execution of simulations, including support for running Monte Carlo statistics, corner sweeps, pass/fail analysis, and real-time tuning with the Cadence Spectre® Simulation Platform.
The Virtuoso ADE Assembler extends the Virtuoso ADE Explorer’s capabilities across multiple testbenches simultaneously, allowing the user to monitor all aspects of the larger analog block they are creating by enabling easy and direct review of all results and generating specification-comparison sheets and datasheets as needed. The Virtuoso ADE Assembler also contains targeted features for parasitic analysis, design migration with parameter re-centering, and worst-case corner development to simplify variation analysis tasks.
To handle the key challenges of advanced-node or high-sigma designs, the Virtuoso Variation Option enables fast Monte Carlo analysis for FinFETs, high-yield estimation, mismatch contribution, sensitivity, and advanced optimization flows.
Finally, the Virtuoso ADE Assembler supplies information to the Virtuoso ADE Verifier, which is designed to match the highest level circuit specifications with individual analysis tests being developed by different users or design sites. Because status is managed in one location, as shown in Figure 1, circuit architects know the complete status of the design at all times.
Virtuoso ADE Assembler Overview
Virtuoso ADE Assembler—the advanced design and simulation environment for the Virtuoso platform—supports extensive exploration of multiple designs against their objective specifications, setting the standard in thorough, fast, and accurate design and variation analysis and verification capabilities. It works seamlessly with Virtuoso ADE Explorer, which is included with the Virtuoso ADE Assembler license. The Virtuoso ADE Assembler enables the user to netlist and simulate partial layouts to allow detailed analysis of layout-dependent effects, and when used with the Virtuoso Variation Option, analyze advanced node variation, high-yield estimation, and statistical sensitivity (see Figure 2).
Benefits
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Built-in “run plans” simplify the creation and execution of small sets of regression tests, both interactively and with a regression scripting language - Design analysis across multiple tests and conditions simultaneously enables thorough design validation and compiles results into a single easy-to-use database
- Support for corners, parametric sweeps, Monte Carlo, and reliability analysis across multiple tests
- Built-in advanced variation analysis tools, such as worst-case corners and statistically derived corners
- Quick color-coded feedback of all results against target specifications to help maintain design intent
- Optimum analysis throughput with simulation distribution and multi-test management across user-preferred load-balancing software
- Simplification of design reviews through integral documentation, specifications, measurement results, and waveforms
- Substantial performance enhancements throughout, especially for test database versioning and waveform plotting
- Close integration with Virtuoso Schematic Editor and Virtuoso Layout Suite for fast test development and debug of physical effects introduced into the design during layout
- Full suite of parasitic analysis capabilities built-in
- Access point for Virtuoso ADE Cloud capabilities
Features
Specification-driven design
To accelerate design verification, Virtuoso ADE Assembler combines specification entry and design management in a single unified cockpit. A specification consists of all required tests, analyses, and operating conditions for validation against a measured set of goals. With Virtuoso ADE Assembler, you can easily develop multiple tests, along with all the different conditions to validate a design’s performance against the target specification. Each Virtuoso ADE Assembler session can be treated as a project, providing access to all the tests, sweeps, corners, scripts, and documentation needed to completely validate a design against the designer’s intent.
An overview of all the tests, simulators used, and analysis conducted—along with any defined variables and corners—is listed on the Data View assistant screen. Results of the latest analysis appear in a tabular view on the right side, with color coding to show at a glance the simulation results that pass or fail against the target specification. Results can be reordered or transposed for better visualization. Filters at the top of the datasheet allow quick manipulation of large lists to home in on specific problem areas of the circuit. Users can easily explore results in more detail by right-clicking any single result or set of results that pop up in the Virtuoso Visualization and Analysis waveform window. In addition, a results history is automatically maintained so users can quickly go back to see previous results or even results from different test configurations. The “run plans” can be used to quickly set up multiple tests and run them on a “conditional” basis, allowing results from one set of tests to be used in the next set as starting points (see Figure 3).
Sophisticated variation design
The Virtuoso ADE Assembler supports sophisticated variation analysis with a number of different built-in tools. Worst-case corners can be used to reduce large corner sets to a handful of those that provide the most circuit stress. This handful of corners can then be used to quickly check measurements or design changes without having to run the complete set. Local and global optimization algorithms are used in the design centering modes when moving designs from one process node to the next to help you maintain circuit yield. Tuning mode can help you tune your design quickly even across multiple test benches and multiple conditions. The engineer is in control in this mode and can make tradeoffs on the fly depending on how the results are converging. When combined with the Virtuoso Variation Option, Virtuoso ADE Assembler can be extended to include features to statistically analyze advanced node circuits more quickly, develop accurate pictures of the design behavior within a 4- to 6-sigma design space, and use automated techniques to enhance overall yield.
Integral part of the Virtuoso custom design platform
Virtuoso ADE Assembler is an integral part of the Virtuoso custom design platform. It bridges the gap between schematic design and physical layout by providing a simulation environment where the designer can compare designs in both pre- and post-extracted forms, thereby completing the Cadence IC design flow. It supports analog system to IC design methods with complete access to behavioral modeling languages for both simulation and cross-probing for waveform display. Post-simulation operating condition can be easily annotated back to the schematic with net voltages, currents, and device operating information.
When combined with the Virtuoso Implementation-Aware Design Option, Virtuoso ADE Assembler can be used as a central cockpit to analyze the layout as it is being created, giving the user the added benefit of seeing the effects of different layout choices early and providing guidance on how best to create layouts to negate the layout-dependent effects on the circuit.
Integration with Cloud
Using Virtuoso ADE Cloud, the Virtuoso ADE Assembler creates simulation “packets” that are securely sent to cloud-based machines and simulated by the Spectre Accelerated Parallel Simulator (APS) or Spectre X Simulator. This requires no changes to the design flow and no need to learn new tools. Even IT teams do not need to create a new environment.
Virtuoso ADE Cloud leverages the Cadence Cloudburst™ Platform that is certified for ISO 27001, the international security standard, and has access to the massive compute capacity of a commercial cloud. From the Virtuoso ADE Assembler cockpit:
- Cloud job status can be monitored and controlled
- Simulation scaler results are automatically returned to fill in the datasheet
- Simulation waveform results can be returned to on-premises workstations on-demand
The net result is faster verification turnaround time without having to compromise on the verification coverage.
Specifications
Interactive simulation control
- Works seamlessly with Virtuoso ADE Explorer for single test operation
- Design exploration with sweeps, corners, and Monte Carlo analysis across multiple test benches and conditions
- Support of matching and correlation constraints from Virtuoso Schematic Editor XL
- Creation and tracking of parametric dependencies among tests for more complex analysis
- Deeply integrated with Spectre Simulation Platform
- Ability to save different test configurations for different steps in the testing flow and analysis of results
- Creation of specifications directly from simulation results
- Quick overview window of test results against target specification
- Cross-probing and annotation to schematics and layout
- Support for pre-run calibration scripting
- Built-in variation analyses
- Worst-case corner analysis
- Design migration and centering mode for moving between process nodes
- Cross-test tuning to aid design centering
- Global and local optimization modes
- Reliability analysis
Waveform display
- Supports multiple y-axes, strip plots, and Smith charts
- Built-in waveform calculator
- Independent sub-window displays
- Horizontal and vertical measurement markers
- Independent pan and zoom capability
- User-defined labels and titles
- Color and line style controls
- Signal browser
- Color-coordinated cross-probing to schematics
Distributed processing
- Distribution of multiple simulations
- Efficient use of computer farms
- Built-in basic load balancing and interface to other load-balancing tools
- Job monitoring and controlling functions
- Graphical user interfaces for set-up and viewing status