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Overview
Parade Technologies, Ltd., headquartered in Silicon Valley, is a leading supplier of mixed-signal ICs for a variety of display and high-speed interface standards, including USB, DisplayPort™, HDMI™, and PCIe®. Their portfolio serves the growing demand for USB Type-C® devices, incorporating complex functions such as port configuration switches, redrivers, retimers, and port controllers. Parade Technologies maintains close relationships with Tier-1 OEMs, making their ICs integral to products from nearly every major computer and display vendor globally. Seeking to enhance their USB4 retimer DUT verification, Parade turned to Synopsys for a robust, high-performance solution.
Synopsys’ verification solutions were critical to our success – allowing us to get up and running within hours, enabling us to find bugs quickly, and supporting us with custom enhancements per our DUT."
George Qian
|Director, Parade Technologies
Challenges
Parade Technologies faced several significant challenges in their quest to meet their stringent design requirements and aggressive timeline:
- Aggressive Design Schedule: Parade needed a verification solution that could meet a tight timeline for delivering high-performance server system-on-chips (SoCs).
- Custom Support: Specific support was required to meet the unique needs of their DUT.
- Integration Needs: They needed an easy-to-integrate, end-to-end VIP solution with exhaustive debug, log, and trace capabilities.
Solution
Synopsys provided Parade Technologies with a comprehensive verification suite, including VC Verification IP (VIP) for USB4, VCS® Simulator, and Verdi® Debug.
- Ease of Use: Synopsys' VIP for USB4 enabled Parade to set up their verification environment swiftly and achieve first-test success within hours.
- Seamless Integration: The VIP seamlessly integrated with both Verdi and VCS, accelerating the setup of the verification environment.
- Scalability and Reusability: The solution facilitated the creation of a scalable and reusable UVM verification environment.
- Rapid Bug Detection: The first design bugs were identified within an hour of connecting the VIP, highlighting the efficiency of Synopsys' debugging tools.
- Expert Support: Synopsys provided expert verification support, crucial for meeting Parade's aggressive time-to-market schedule and adapting to changing specifications.
Results
The implementation of Synopsys' verification solutions yielded impressive results for Parade Technologies:
- First-Test Success: Achieved within hours of setting up the verification environment.
- Efficient Tapeout: Parade successfully taped out their first USB4 retimer DUT in less than one year.
- Reduced Development Time: The detailed error messages and protocol checks significantly cut down the overall development time.
- Enhanced Debugging: Integration with Verdi debug enabled quick identification and resolution of bugs, ensuring a robust final product.
By leveraging Synopsys' robust verification solutions, Parade Technologies achieved their goal of delivering high-performance SoCs within a stringent timeline, reinforcing their position as a leader in the mixed-signal IC market.
