The Week In Review: March 30
Friday, March 30th, 2012By Ed Sperling
Synopsys rolled out a suite of integrated tools specifically for both 2.5D and 3D stacked die, setting the stage for a huge change in how ICs are designed and packaged over the next decade. The company also introduced its audio subsystem, complete with IP, tools, a processor and audio codecs. In addition, Synopsys teamed up with Altera and TSMC for silicon-accurate parasitic modeling and extraction at 28nm, and it created parasitic extraction models for double patterning with an industry consortium.
Mentor Graphics added support for the Yocto Project, allowing its embedded Linux middleware to support the various flavors of Linux development without putting the burden on developers. This is an important step forward in the commercialization of Linux, where development has been piecemeal in keeping with its university/scientific roots. Mentor’s tools allow developers to build embedded systems without worrying about which hardware to use. Mentor Graphics also teamed up with Triad Semiconductor to create a low-cost, mixed-signal tool the companies claim can slash costs and development time for mixed-signal ICs. Triad is based in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Cadence announced verification IP support for two new enterprise-level cloud storage standards, NVM Express and 12GB/second SAS (serial-attached SCSI).