CosmosSE Automated Full-Custom Design Environment

Overview
Significant integrated circuit (IC) designs, notably system-on-chip (SoCs), contain custom, mixed-signal, and analog components that require schematic capture, simulation, and physical layout design automation in addition to standard-cell blocks that are based on synthesis and automated place and route. Most designs interface to the analog world at some point, and market pressures often require high performance or other capabilities that can be met only with a full-custom, schematic-based design automation flow. CosmosSE™ is such a flow.

CosmosSE is a schematic-based simulation and analysis environment. In combination with Synopsys’ HSPICE® and NanoSim™ simulation engines, CosmosSE provides a complete solution for rapid design of analog, mixed signal, and custom high-speed digital circuits.

CosmosSE Benefits

• Provides for Easy Simulation Setup and Reuse. Synopsys’ analog simulators, HSPICE and NanoSim, are supported by the Cosmos-Guide™ simulation manager. Cosmos-Guide creates workspaces that specify setups, analyses, simulation runs, and a textual display of results. A Cosmos-Guide workspace supports an unlimited number of simulation analyses that may be saved or copied to new workspaces.

• Shortens Design Time. Cosmos schematic entry is intuitive and easy to use with a short learning curve. Features such as macro recorder, iterated instances, configurable key bindings, and hierarchical-net highlighting shorten design time and increase user efficiency.

• Improves Analysis Results. Probe windows display waveforms right on the schematic to give a quick window to results. Clicking on a probe window brings the waveform into CosmosScope™. The measurement and calculation capabilities of CosmosScope rival any waveform viewer available today.

• Verifies Signal Integrity. Parasitics from NanoSim are back annotated for display on the schematic. Parasitic netlists can be resimulated in whole, or in part and waveforms can be plotted directly from the schematic for any device terminal that connects to a parasitic RC network. Particular hierarchical blocks in the design may have a parasitic representation while others are ideal to shorten simulation times. Signal integrity is verified for placed and routed blocks relative to the ideal models.

• Prepares Designs for Physical Implementation. Because schematics are created in the Milkyway™ database, they are ready for layout using CosmosLE™ and it’s automated layout features.

ComsosSE’s schematic capture is both powerful and easy to use for mixed signal designs.

CosmoSE’s and HSPICE simulation results are displayed directly on the mixed signal designs. schematic and can be instantly displayed onto the waveform viewer.

Today’s mixed-signal design processes become increasingly complicated as minimum fabrication dimensions reach sizes that are a fraction of the wavelength of visible light.

Correspondingly, the design rules required for high fabrication yields have become too complex to manage with older, less-automated electronic-designautomation (EDA) tools.

From a designer’s perspective the size and complexity of SoC designs are increasing exponentially. Meeting the dual challenges of fabrication effects and design constraints requires EDA tools that increase designer productivity while handling these complex issues. CosmosSE advantages such as simulation workspace management, access to bestin- class simulation engines, and the common Milkyway database boost designers’ productivity and efficiency.

Schematic Capture
CosmosSE schematic capture is intuitive and easy to use. Design entry begins with a parts gallery where users easily locate, select, and place components, or save new components. Clicking on a hierarchical symbol pushes into its schematic view. Moreover, hierarchical symbols are automatically generated and can be edited after creation. Features such as nested iterated instances, properties that allow equations, fully configurable key bindings, hierarchical net highlighting, and a macro recorder with replay, ensure high productivity. All schematics are saved in the Milkyway database. These schematics can be exported to and imported from other Milkyway libraries. Schematic translation is available using EDIF.

Design Simulation
Cosmos-Guide steers the simulation process for HSPICE and NanoSim. Simulation and configuration settings in CosmosSE allows easy setup and reuse of analysis, accuracy, and performance options. A project workspace can configure and save design projects and analysis types including DC, frequency domain, and transient analyses with looping and sweep capability. Simulator options and their definitions are easily selected on a global or per-session basis. To monitor the progress of simulation, a transcript log can be viewed and results files can be easily accessed.

CosmosSE’s waveform viewing and analysis features offer powerful measurement and signal calculation capabilities.

Design Analysis
Unique to CosmosSE is a powerful signalprobe feature that instantly displays signal waveforms of any schematic node directly on the schematic. A user can move the probe display window from node to node or attach several probe windows to the schematic and monitor the simulation in real time. Even differential signals can be displayed within a given probe window. A double click invokes the Cosmos-Scope waveform viewer and analysis tool included with CosmosSE.

The Cosmos-Scope graphical measurement tool offers more than 50 automatic measurements in the time domain, frequency domain, and S-domain to help users quickly determine if design specifications are met. Statistical measurements such as mean, average, median, and standard deviation are each quickly accessible. Measurement results are annotated directly onto the diagram.

The Cosmos-Scope waveform calculator allows further analysis of simulation results. A user selects signals from the signal manager or any graph and pastes their names into the registers of the waveform calculator.

The calculator keyboard allows the user to enter numerical values, build complex expressions, and perform more than 70 different mathematical operations on the signals followed by a display of the results.

Complete Front-to-Back Solution
CosmosSE works seamlessly within the full Cosmos environment to provide integrated front-to-back, mixed-signal custom-IC design. CosmosSE works with CosmosLE, so that a schematic-driven layout provides direct interaction between design capture and the custom layout editor to automate creation of the physical design. In CosmosSE, advanced simulation-based analysis of waveforms resulting from extraction provides essential debugging functionality to the designer. In contrast to competitors’ simulation environments, CosmosSE has full support and integration with both HSPICE and NanoSim.

CosmosSE provides a migration path to move designs from other systems onto Milkyway. Schematic translators are available for Cadence, Innoveda, Mentor, and EDIF. The schematics and the layout are both integrated into Cosmos and the Milkyway database. When layout and schematics are part of a unified database, the schematic and layout are always in sync. If a change is made to either layout or schematic that could cause loss of synchronization, the user is informed. CosmosSE allows waveform analyses to be configured, saved, and reused in graphical form. Simulations can either update prior results on graphs or be appended to them. All of the usual SPICE analyses results can be opened directly (transient, ac, frequency).

CosmosSE gives users unprecedented flexibility in documenting and saving results. Page-layout forms help specify paper size and alignment, allowing users to create oversize plots that span several pages for both schematic drawings and waveforms. Users can also export to popular office automation formats for inclusion in documents or presentations. More than 13 formats are supported including: PostScript, JPEG, TIFF, PCL5, EMF, and HPGL2. Drawings, annotations, and symbols can be freely copied and pasted between applications.

CosmosSE allows waveform analyses to be configured, saved, and reused in graphical form. Simulations can either update prior results on graphs or be appended to them. All of the usual SPICE analyses results can be opened directly (transient, ac, frequency).

Synopsys’ advanced custom-designautomation technology is the choice of IC power users for creation of ultra-deepsubmicron (UDSM) designs. In the standard-cell market Synopsys leads the way with Astro™. Adding Cosmos full-custom design capability to Astro standardcell design capability provides complete SoC design automation.

Synopsys’ JupiterXT™ hierarchical design planning provides partitioning, block placement, and timing budgeting. In the partitioning and placement step, JupiterXT provides area and pin information that can be used to constrain Cosmos physical layouts. When Astro standardcell blocks and Cosmos full-custom blocks are complete they are assembled onto a full SoC using Synopsys’ Astro top-level chip-assembly capability. Cosmos is an advanced, full-custom solution available as an integral part of the Milkway-based, SinglePass-SoC solution.

CosmosSE 2001.4 Release Supports the Following Platforms:

• UNIX SUN 32-bit v & 64-bit
• UNIX HP 32-bit & 64-bit
• Linux 32-bit

CosmosSE Supports the Following Simulators:

• n HSPICE®
• NanoSim™

CosmosSE utilizes the Milkyway database for schematics and physical layouts. Schematics may be imported from all major EDA companies using an available translator.