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Telangana train accident: Goods train derails near Peddapalli. Check full list of cancelled, diverted trains today | Today News - Mint

  1. Telangana train accident: Goods train derails near Peddapalli. Check full list of cancelled, diverted trains today | Today News  Mint
  2. Goods train derails in Telangana's Peddapalli; 20 trains cancelled, 10 diverted  The Economic Times
  3. 11 coaches of goods train derail in Telangana  The Times of India
  4. Goods train derailment in Telangana affects rail traffic between Delhi and Chennai  Telangana Today
  5. Goods train derails in Telangana's Peddapalli; 30 trains cancelled, several diverted  The Hindu







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INCREDIBLE early Black Friday deal saves you on Samsung wearables and accessories!

Samsung has an early Black Friday deal for its accessories and wearables, so don’t miss out if you want some savings!

The post INCREDIBLE early Black Friday deal saves you on Samsung wearables and accessories! appeared first on Phandroid.




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Russian Teachers Pranked Into Wearing Tinfoil Hats To Fight "Evil NATO" Plot

The prankster claims that as many as seven schools fell prey to his prank and made the hats.




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"No Talking...": Employee Shares Strict Workplace Rules, Calls It A "Jail"

The post details a highly restrictive environment where employees are forbidden from basic actions like looking away from their screens or using their phones.




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Brace For Impact! Maruti Will Increase Price Of Almost All Cars By This Date: Check Full Details

India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has announced that it will hike the prices of its models from January 2023. It said the increase will vary for different models. Why? In a statement the automaker explained its struggles and the reason behind the hikes. “The Company continues to witness increased cost pressure driven […]




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300 Microsoft Employees Create Employee Union, First Time Ever: This Is How Microsoft Reacted

Around 300 workers at Microsoft Corp.’s ZeniMax Studios have commenced the process of forming a union which is said to be the first at the software giant in the US.  Here, Microsoft Corp.’s ZeniMax Studios known for popular video games including Skyrim and Fallout. Forming Union In Microsoft Corp Moreover, the quality assurance employees at […]




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Amber Solutions raises $3.3M Series A to fast track sales of its smart electrical products

Amber Solutions, an IoT product company that sells smart outlets, switches and circuit breakers closed Series A Preferred Stock round of financing that equals $3.3M in gross proceeds. Amber will use the funds to support the commercial development of Amber's core technologies.

One of Amber’s product is solid-state circuit interrupter (GFCI) that basically stops harmful levels of electricity from passing through a person. It operates as a safety device alerting the homeowner of electrocution incidents in real time.

"We are pleased that our investors are embracing Amber's vision of bringing superior IoT intelligence and connectivity to a highly strategic area--the single gang box locations within the standard electrical infrastructure in homes and buildings," said Amber Solutions CEO Thar Casey.
"Amber's smart outlets and switches strategically aggregate IoT sensors and functions within a structure's single gang box locations. This means a more discreet and yet wider array of IoT sensing and control in every room than is typical today,"Casey further added.

Amber Solutions’ core markets are builders that prepare smart home/smart building ready infrastructure, certified electrical contractors or remodelers, and electrical manufacturers.

Amber products

Other latest funding news include Owlet’s $24M Series B, Axonize’s $6M Series A round and addition of Deutsche Telekom as its strategic investor, and $30M Series B raised by Palo Alto-based Armis.




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Microsoft buys conversational AI company Semantic Machines for an undisclosed sum

Microsoft announced it has acquired Semantic Machines, a conversational AI startup providing chatbots and AI chat apps founded in 2014 having $20.9 million in funding from investors. The acquisition will help Microsoft catch up with Amazon Alexa, though the latter is more focused on enabling consumer applications of conversational AI.

Microsoft will use Semantic Machine’s acquisition to establish a conversational AI center of excellence in Berkeley to help it innovate in natural language interfaces.

Microsoft has been stepping up its products in conversational AI. It launched the digital assistant Cortana in 2015, as well as social chatbots like XiaoIce. The latest acquisition can help Microsoft beef up its ‘enterprise AI’ offerings.

As the use of NLP (natural language processing) increases in IoT products and services, more startups are getting traction from investors and established players. In June last year, Josh.ai, avoice-controlled home automation software has raised $8M.

Followed by it was SparkCognition that raised $32.5M Series B for its NLP-based threat intelligence platform.

It appears Microsoft’s acquisition of Semantic Machines was motivated by the latter’s strong AI team. The team includes technology entrepreneur Daniel Roth who sold his previous startups Voice Signal Technologies and Shaser BioScience for $300M and $100M respectively. Other team members include Stanford AI Professor Percy Liang, developer of Google Assistant Core AI technology and former Apple chief speech scientist Larry Gillick.

“Combining Semantic Machines' technology with Microsoft's own AI advances, we aim to deliver powerful, natural and more productive user experiences that will take conversational computing to a new level." David Ku, chief technology officer of Microsoft AI & Research.






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Siemens to acquire smart lighting control company Enlighted Inc. for an undisclosed sum

Siemens Building Technologies division announced it will acquire Enlighted Inc., a smart IoT building technology provider. The transaction is expected to close in Q3’18.

Enlighted Inc.’s core element is an advanced lighting control application. It is based on a patented, software-defined smart sensor that collects and monitors real-time occupancy, light levels, temperatures and energy usage.

The sensor can gauge temperature, light level, motion, energy, and has Bluetooth connectivity.

The Enlighted Micro Sensor

The Enlighted system works by collecting temperature, light and motion data via its smart sensors. A gateway device carries the information to Energy Manager, a secure browser-based interface to create profiles and adjust settings of the entire Enlighted Advanced Lighting Control System. The Energy manager operates as an analytics device.

The whole system consists of multi-function sensors, distributed computing, a network, and software applications run by Enlighted Inc.

“With Siemens as a global partner, we will both accelerate innovation and market adoption of our smart building technologies on an international scale.”Joe Costello, Chairman, and CEO of Enlighted Inc

Enlighted Inc.’s main target market is commercial real estate. Key use cases of its intelligent Lighting Control System are energy efficiency, controlling heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and building utilization reports.

Use the Postscapes 'Connected Products Framework' to understand the smart home and buildings eco-system.




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Smart lock company LockState closes $5.8M Series A to fast track sales & partnerships

Smart Lock Company LockState raised $5.8M Series A in new investment to fund its aggressive sales and marketing and partner development plan. The company previously raised $740K seed round and $1M in a round led by angel investors. The lead investor in latest round was Iron Gate Capital. Other investors include Kozo Keikaku Engineering Inc, Nelnet and Service Provider Capital.

Access Control Dashboard and WiFi Smart Locks

The company’s Wi-Fi-enabled RemoteLock is used by 1000s of Airbnb and other vacation rental hosts. It helps hosts remotely provide access to guests. Locking/unlocking codes can be generated via a host’s computer or smartphone.

RemoteLock’s prices start at $299 which is its algorithmic ResortLock. The most pricey lock by LockState is its ‘RemoteLock 7i Black WiFi Commercial Smart Lock’ which costs $479.

Another core product of LockState is its cloud-based remote access platform for internet-enabled locks. It implies users can remotely manage their (internet-enabled) locks via LockState’s cloud platform.

Unlike smartphones and watches, customers don’t look forward to upgrading their smart locks or buying one when new models are launched. Thus, smart lock companies offset this disadvantage by partnering with property management and short-term rental companies to get new customers.

LockState has partnered with vacation rental brands like Airbnb, HomeAway, and other listing partners to automate guest access.

“We are expanding our footprint and moving into a new warehouse office that is more than twice the size of our current office. We’re also staffing up our sales and marketing teams. We’ve accomplished a lot without investing heavily in marketing so we’ll support that area to keep our momentum going. We intend to expand into new business-to-business and enterprise verticals where we’re seeing the market grow. We are also dedicating budget toward development.” Nolan Mondrow, CEO of LockState in a statement released to news site Venture Beat

Igloohome a Singapore-based smart lock company also raised an investment of $4M in April this year.




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Hitman Wanted By Police for Attacking Twin Brothers

[SAPS] Office of the Provincial Commissioner KwaZulu-Natal




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Gauteng Police to Raid Spaza Shops in Food Safety Crackdown - South African News Briefs - November 11, 2024

[allAfrica]




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Media Reminder - Na and NCOP to Hold Plenary Sittings to Discuss 16 Days of Activism and Infrastructure Development

[Parliament of South Africa] Parliament, Tuesday, 12 November 2024 - The National Assembly (NA) will hold a plenary session scheduled to start at 10:00. Among the items on the agenda from 10:00 to 13:00 is the statement by the Minister of Water and Sanitation on water security in the country and a debate on 16 Days of Activism for no violence against women and children. The debate will be held under the theme, "Marking 30 years of democratic rights for women and fostering national unity to end gender-based violence".




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How to see placement reasons of cells? How to highlight timing start/end points?

I am working with innovus on a huge design. I found some cells are placed far away from both timing start points and timing end points. I suspect some other timing paths may be near-critical that results in this sub-optimal cell placement; or innovus has to place the cell far away due to congestion of placement or routing.

Is there a way to see why innovus places/moves the cell during place_opt_design or ccopt_design?

Also, is there a way to highlight all timing start points or timing end points that go through a cell? There may be thousands of timing paths through this cell. I tried using report_timing and timing debugger but it is very painful to click the highlight box and highlight the timing paths one by one.

Thank you for your help!




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Specifying the placement of submodules in the top module during the pnr using Innovus

Hi everyone,

I'm designing a digital chip that will be fabricated. I have a HDL top module that includes several submodules inside it. I want to define the position of some of the submodules during the PnR so that later I can specify there positions in the Micrograph photo after the IC fabrication. When I perform the PnR using Innovus, I always got a layout shape where the submodules seems to be flatted. I wonder if there is a way to specify the placement of each submodule in my top module  (maybe in the tcl file) during the PnR so later I can define there positions in the micrograph photo. 

Thanks in Advance!




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cut_spacing violation

I am getting the cut_spacing violation in the power plan, my design has two power rails, and the via is not formed for two rails, only one rail getting via, I used edit power via and modified the cut_space violation.

how to solve this problem.




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Performing a net trace in a CDL file

Hi,

I am looking to perform a net trace in a CDL file.

There is a net at a lower level and would like to know the net it is connected to at the top level.

Please let me know if there is a way to analyze the CDL file to perform this net trace.

Thanks,

Mallikarjun.




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Unlock Your RF Engineering Potential with a Cadence AWR Free Academic Trial!

Are you ready to revolutionize your RF design experience? Look no further! Cadence AWR software is your gateway to mastering the intricacies of Radio Frequency (RF) circuit design, and now, you can explore its power with our exclusive Free Academic T...(read more)




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Constraining some nets to route through a specific metal layer, and changing some pin/cell placements and wire directions in Cadence Innovus.

Hello All:

I am looking for help on the following, as I am new to Cadence tools [I have to use Cadence Innovus for Physical Design after Logic Synthesis using Synopsys Design Compiler, using Nangate 45 nm Open Cell Library]: while using Cadence Innovus, I would need to select a few specific nets to be routed through a specific metal layer. How can I do this on Innovus [are there any command(s)]? Also, would writing and sourcing a .tcl script [containing the command(s)] on the Innovus terminal after the Placement Stage of Physical Design be fine for this?

Secondly, is there a way in Innovus to manipulate layout components, such as changing some pin placements, wire directions (say for example, wire direction changed to facing east from west, etc.) or moving specific closely placed cells around (without violating timing constraints of course) using any command(s)/.tcl script? If so, would pin placement changes and constraining some closely placed cells to be moved apart be done after Floorplanning/Powerplanning (that is, prior to Placement) and the wire direction changes be done after Routing? 

While making the necessary changes, could I use the usual Innovus commands to perform Physical Design of the remaining nets/wires/pins/cells, etc., or would anything need modification for the remaining components as well?

I would finally need to dump the entire design containing all of this in a .def file.

I tried looking up but could only find matter on Virtuoso and SKILL scripting, but I'd be using Innovus GUI/terminal with Nangate 45 nm Open Cell Library. I know this is a lot, but I would greatly appreciate your help. Thanks in advance.

Riya




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5X “Time Warp” in Your Next Verification Cycle Using Xcelium Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere. Machine learning (ML) and its associated inference abilities promise to revolutionize everything from driving your car to making your breakfast. Verification is never truly complete; it is over when you run...(read more)




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Xcelium PowerPlayBack App and Dynamic Power Analysis

Learn how Xcelium PowerPlayback App enables the massively parallel Xcelium replay of waveforms for glitch-accurate power estimation of multi-billion gate SoC designs.(read more)




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Achieve 80% Less Late-Stage RTL Changes and Early RTL Bug Detection

It has become challenging to ensure that the designs are complete, correct, and adhere to necessary coding rules before handing them off for RTL verification and implementation. RTL Designer Signoff Solution from Cadence helps the user identify RTL bugs at a very early development stage, saving a lot of effort and cost for the design and verification team. Our reputed customers have confirmed that using RTL signoff for their design IP helped save up to 4 weeks and reduce the late-stage RTL changes by up to 80%.(read more)



  • Jasper RTL Designer Signoff App
  • Jasper
  • Early Bug Detection

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IC Packagers: Workflows That Work for You

New IC packaging workflows in Cadence Allegro X layout tools allow you to follow a guided path from starting a design through final manufacturing. The path is there to ensure that you don’t miss steps and perform actions in the optimal order. W...(read more)




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Accelerate PCB Documentation in OrCAD X Presto with Live Doc

Live Doc is an advanced automated PCB documentation generation tool integrated with OrCAD X Presto designed to streamline the creation of PCB documentation. By automating the generation of PCB fabrication and assembly drawings, Live Doc significantly...(read more)




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Relative delay analysis is impacted by pbar

Does anyone know how to not include a pbar in a constraint manager analysis? I have some relative delay constraints applied on a group of differential nets. When I analyze the design these all show an error. If I delete the plating bar from the design they are all passing. The plating bar gets generated on the Substrate Geometry / Plating_Bar class. I understand that I could just delete the plating bar to verify the constraint but the issue is when I archive this design I would like it to be clean meaning it is in the final state for manufacturing AND passing all constraints according to design reviews.

Anyone have an idea? 

Thank you!




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What is Allegro X Advanced Package Designer and why do I not see Allegro Package Designer Plus (APD+) in 23.1?

Starting SPB 23.1, Allegro Package Designer Plus (APD+) has been rebranded as Allegro X Advanced Package Designer (Allegro X APD).

The splash screen for Allegro X APD will appear as shown below, instead of showing APD+ 2023:

For the Windows Start menu in 23.1, it will display as Allegro X APD 2023 instead of APD+ 2023, as shown below

23.1 Start menu 

In the Product Choices window for 23.1, you will see Allegro X Advanced Package Designer in the place of Allegro Package Designer +, as shown below: 

23.1 product title




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Introducing new 3DX Canvas in Allegro X Advanced Package Designer

Have you heard that starting SPB 23.1, Allegro Package Designer Plus (APD+) will be renamed as Allegro X Advanced Package Designer (Allegro X APD)? 

Allegro X APD offers multiple new features and enhancements on topics like Via Structures, Wirebond, Etchback, Text Wizards, 3D Canvas, and more. 

This post presents the new 3DX Canvas introduced in SPB 23.1. This can be invoked from Allegro X APD (from the menu item View > 3DX Canvas). 

Some of the key benefits of the new canvas: 

  • This canvas addresses the scale and complexity in large modern package designs. It provides highly efficient visual representation and implementation of packages. 
  • The new architecture enables high-performance 3D incremental updates by utilizing GPU for fast rendering. 

  • Real-time 3D incremental updates are supported, which means that the 3D view is in sync with all changes to the database. 

  • The new canvas provides 3D visualization support for packaging objects such as wire bonds, ball, die bump/pillar geometries, die stacks, etch back, and plating bar. 

  • This release also introduces the interactive measurement tool for a 3D view of packages. Once you open 3DX Canvas, press the Alt key and you can select the objects you want to measure. 
  • 3DX Canvas provides new 3D DRC Bond Wire Clearances with Real 3D DRC Checks. True 3D DRC in Constraint Manager has been introduced. If you open Constraint Manager, there will be a new worksheet added. Following DRC checks are supported: 
    Wire to Wire 
    Wire to Finger 
    Wire to Shape 
    Wire to Cline 
    Wire to Component




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How to allow DRCs to the surrounding objects using Etch Back option

Starting from SPB23.1, a new option, Allow DRCs to surrounding metal, has been added in the Etch-Back form to allow DRCs to the surrounding objects. form to allow DRCs to the surrounding objects.

The Allow DRCs to surrounding metal option lets you see and adjust objects instead of the current behavior, which sacrifices the width of the mask for the trace.

  • When this option is turned off, it maintains the EB mask to another object clearance.
  • When this option is enabled, it keeps the EB mask to the EM trace edge clearance and shows a DRC if the EB mask to another object spacing is out of rule.




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How to access the Transmission Line Calculator in Allegro X APD

Have you ever thought of a handy utility to specify all necessary transmission line parameters to decide upon the stackup?   

Starting SPB 23.1, a handy feature Transmission Line Calculator, is built into Allegro X Advanced Package Designer (Allegro X APD). This feature will require either an SiP Layout license or can be accessed through SiP Layout Bundle. 

From the Analyze dropdown menu in the 23.1 Allegro X APD toolbar, you can choose Transmission Line Calculator. 

 

You can use this calculator to help decide constraints and stackup for laminate-based PCB or Packages. You can calculate the correct stackup material and width/spacing to meet any requirements that may be later entered in a constraint. This is truly a calculated number and not a true field solver. 

The different types of calculations that the Transmission Line Calculator can provide are Microstrip, Embedded microstrip, Stripline, CPW (Coplanar), FGCPW (frequency-dependent Coplanar),Asymmetric stripline, Coupled microstrip (Differential Pair), Coupled stripline (Differential Pair), and Dual striplines. 

This feature is important for customers relying on fabricators/spreadsheets to provide this information or need to test a quick spacing/width as per the impedance value. 

Let us know your comments on this new feature in 23.1 Allegro X APD. 

 




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DFA check space of compont to BGA ball or BGA PAD in APD

Hi,

There are mang components in BGA ball side of flipchip package.

Are there DFA check space of compont body or pin soldermask to BGA ball or BGA PAD or bga  soldermask in allegro APD?

I only find space of compont to compont in APD DFA. 




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Allegro X APD - Tip of the week: Wondering how to set two adjacent layers as conductor layers! Then this post should help you.

By default, a dielectric must separate each pair of conductor layers in the cross-section of a design. In rare cases, this does not represent the real, manufactured substrate.

If your design requires you to have conductor layers that are not separated by a dielectric (such as, for half-etch designs), there is a variable that needs to be set in Allegro X APD. You must set this by enabling the variable icp_allow_adjacent_conductors. This entry, and its location in the User Preferences Editor, are shown in the following image.

The Objects on adjacent conductor layers do not electrically connect together, automatically. A via must be used to establish the inter-layer connections.

When enabling this option, it is recommended to exercise caution because excluding dielectric layers from your cross-section can lead to inaccurate calculations, including the calculations for signal integrity and via heights. It is important that your cross-section accurately reflect the finished product to ensure the most accurate results possible. Any dielectric layers present in the manufactured part need to be in the cross-section for accurate extraction, 3D viewing, and so on.

Let us know your comments on the various designs that would require adjacent conductor layers.




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Creating Power and Ground rings in Allegro X Package Designer Plus

Power and Ground rings are exposed rings of metal surrounding a die that supply power/ground to the die and create a low-impedance path for the current flow. These rings ensure stable power distribution and reduce noise. Allegro X Package Designer Plus has a utility called Power/Ground Ring Generator which lets you define and place one or more shapes in the form of a ring around a die.

 To run the PWR/GND Generator Wizard, go to Route > Power/Ground Ring Generator or type "pring wizard" in the APD command window to invoke the Wizard.

   

This Wizard lets you define and place one or more shapes in the form of a ring around a die. The Power/Ground Ring Wizard creates up to 12 rings (shapes) at a time. If you require more rings, you can run the Power/Ground Ring Wizard as many times as needed. This command displays a wizard in which you can specify:

  • The number of rings to be generated
  • The creation of the first ring as a die flag (Die flag is the boundary of the die like the power ring.)
    • If you create a die flag and the first ring is the same net as the flag, you can enter a negative distance to overlap the ring and the die flag.
  • Multiple options for placement of the rings with respect to:
    • Origination point
    • Distance from the edge of the die
    • Distance from the nearest die pin on each die side
  • The reference designator of the die with which the rings will be used
  • The distance between rings
  • The width of each ring
  • The corner types on each ring (arc, chamfer, and right-angle)
  • An assigned net name for each ring
  • A label for each ring

The rings are basic in nature. For other shape geometries or split rings, choose Shape > Polygon or Shape > Compose/Decompose Shape from the menu in the design window.

Depending on the options selected, the Power/Ground Ring Wizard UI changes, representing how the rings will be created. Verify the Wizard settings to ensure that the rings are created as intended.

  1. When the Power/Ground Ring Wizard appears, set the number of rings to 2, accept the other defaults, and click Next. You can set Create first ring as die flag to create a basic die flag.

         2. Define Ring 1 and the net associated with it.

              a) Browse and choose Vss in the Net Names dialog box.

            b) Click OK.

            c) Specify the label as VSS.

            d) Click Next.

             The first ring should appear in your design. It is associated with the proper net; in this case, VSS.

  1. For the second ring, choose the net as Vdd and specify the label as VDD.
  2. Click Next.
  3. Click Finish in the Result Verification screen to complete the process.

The completed rings appear as shown below.

Now, when you click on Power and Ground Die Pin and add wirebonds, you will see that the wirebonds are placed directly on the Power and Ground rings.




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Package Design Integrity Checks

When things go wrong with your package design flow, it can sometimes be difficult to understand the cause of the issue. This can be something like a die component is wrongly identified as a BGA, a via stack has an alignment issue, or there are duplicate bondwires. These are just a few examples of issues; there can be many more. When interactive messages and log files do not help determine the problem, the Package Design Integrity Check tool becomes very handy. This feature lets you run integrity checks, which ensures that the database is configured correctly. 

To invoke the command from Allegro X Advanced Package Designer, use the Tools > Package Design Integrity menu. 

Or type package integrity at the Command  prompt. 

The Package Design Integrity Checks dialog box includes all categories and checks currently registered for the currently running product. You can enable all these categories and checks or only the one that you want to run. This utility can fix errors automatically (where possible). Errors and warnings are written to the “package_design_check.log” file.  

The utility can also be extended with your own custom rules based on your specific flows and needs. 




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How to transfer etch/conductor delays from Allegro Package Designer (APD) to pin delays in Allegro PCB Editor

The packaging group has finished their design in Allegro Package Designer (APD) and I want to use the etch/conductor delay information from the mcm file in the board design in Allegro PCB Designer. Is there a method to do this?

This can be done by exporting the etch/conductor data from APD and importing it as PIN_DELAY information into Allegro PCB Editor.

If you are generating a length report for use in Allegro Pin Delay, you should consider changing the APD units to Mils and uncheck the Time Delay Report.

In Allegro Package Designer:

  1. Select File > Export > Board Level Component.
  2. Select HDL for the Output format and select OK.

       3. Choose a padstack for use when generating the component and select OK.

This will create a file, package_pin_delay.rpt, in the component subdirectory of the current working directory. This file will contain the etch/conductor delay information that can be imported into Allegro.

In Allegro PCB Editor:

  1. Make sure that the device you want to import delays to is placed in your board design and is visible.
  2. Select File > Import > Pin delay.
  3. Browse to the component directory and select package_pin_delay.rpt. The browser defaults to look for *.csv files so you will need to change the Files of type to *.* to select the file.
  4. You may be prompted with an error message stating that the component cannot be found and you should select one. If so, select the appropriate component.
  5. Select Import.
  6. Once the import is completed, select Close.

Note: It is important that all non-trace shapes have a VOLTAGE property so they will not be processed by the the 2D field solver. You should run Reports > Net Delay Report in APD prior to generating the board-level component. This will display the net name of each net as it is processed. If you miss a VOLTAGE property on a net, the net name will show in the report processing window, and you will know which net needs the property.




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Use Verisium SimAI to Accelerate Verification Closure with Big Compute Savings

Verisium SimAI App harnesses the power of machine learning technology with the Cadence Xcelium Logic Simulator - the ultimate breakthrough in accelerating verification closure. It builds models from regressions run in the Xcelium simulator, enabling the generation of new regressions with specific targets. The Verisium SimAI app also features cousin bug hunting, a unique capability that uses information from difficult-to-hit failures to expose cousin bugs. With these advanced machine learning techniques, Verisium SimAI offers the potential for a significant boost in productivity, promising an exciting future for our users.

Figure 1: Regression compression and coverage maximization with Verisium SimAI 

What can I do with Verisium SimAI?

You can exercise different use cases with Verisium SimAI as per your requirements. For some users, the goal might be regression compression and improving coverage regain. Coverage maximization and hitting new bins could be another goal. Other users may be interested in exposing hard-to-hit failures, bug hunting for difficult to find issues. Verisium SimAI allows users to take on any of these challenges to achieve the desired results.

Let's go into some more details of these use cases and scenarios where using SimAI can have a big positive impact.

  1. Using SimAI for Regression Compression and Coverage Regain

Unlock up to 10X compute savings with SimAI!

Verisium SimAI can be used to compress regressions and regain coverage. This flow involves setting up your regression environment for SimAI, running your random regressions with coverage and randomization data followed by training, and finally, synthesizing and running the SimAI-generated compressed regressions. The synthesized regression may prune tests that do not help meet the goal and add more runs for the most relevant tests, as well as add run-specific constraints. This flow can also be used to target specific areas like areas involving a high code churn or high complexity.

You can check out the details of this flow with illustrative examples in the following Rapid Adoption Kits (RAK) available on the Cadence Learning and Support Portal (Cadence customer credentials needed):

 

  1. Using SimAI for Coverage Maximization and Targeting coverage holes

Reduce your Functional Coverage Holes by up to 40% using SimAI!

Verisium SimAI can be used for iterative coverage maximization. This is most effective when regressions are largely saturated, and SimAI will explicitly try to hit uncovered bins, which may be hard-to-hit (but not impossible) coverage holes. This is achieved using iterative learning technology where with each iteration, SimAI does some exploration and determines how well it performed. This technique can also be used for bug hunting by using holes as targets of interest.

See more details on the Cadence Learning and Support Portal:

 

  1. Using SimAI for Bug Hunting

Discover and fix bugs faster using SimAI!

Verisium SimAI has a new bug hunting flow which can be used to target the goal of exposing hard-to-hit failure conditions. This is achieved using an iterative framework and by targeting failures or rare bins. The goal to target failures is best exercised when the overall failure rate is typically low (below 5%). Iterative learning can be used to improve the ability to target specific areas. Use the SimAI bug hunting use case to target rare events, low hit coverage bins, and low hit failure signatures.

See more details on the Cadence Learning and Support Portal:

Unlock compute savings, reduce your functional coverage holes, and discover and fix bugs faster with the power of machine learning technology now enabled by Verisium SimAI!

Please keep visiting  https://support.cadence.com/raks to download new RAKs as they become available.

Please note that you will need the Cadence customer credentials to log on to the Cadence Online  Support  https://support.cadence.com/, your 24/7 partner for getting help in resolving issues related to Cadence software or learning Cadence tools and technologies.

Happy Learning!




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A Brief on Message Bus Interface in PIPE

PHY Interface for the PCI Express (PCIe), SATA, USB, DisplayPort, and USB4 Architectures (PIPE) enables the development of the Physical Layer (PHY) and Media Access Layer (MAC) design separately, providing a standard communication interface between these two components in the system.

In recent years, the PIPE interface specification has incorporated many enhancements to support new features and advancements happening in the supported protocols. As the supported features increase, so does the count of signals on PIPE interface. To address the issue of increasing signal count, the message bus interface was introduced in PIPE 4.4 and utilized for PCIe lane margining at the receiver and elastic buffer depth control.

In PIPE 5.0, all the legacy PIPE signals without critical timing requirements were mapped into message bus registers so that their associated functionality could be accessed via the message bus interface instead of implementing dedicated signals. It was decided that any new feature added in the new version of PIPE specification will be available only via message bus accesses unless they have critical timing requirements that need dedicated signals.

Message Bus Interface

The message bus interface provides a way to initiate and participate in non-latency-sensitive PIPE operations using a small number of wires. It also enables future PIPE operations to be added without adding additional wires. The use of this interface requires the device to be in a power state with PCLK running.

Control and status bits used for PIPE operations are mapped into 8-bit registers that are hosted in 12-bit address spaces in the PHY and the MAC. The registers are accessed using read-and-write commands driven over the signals M2P_MessageBus[7:0] and P2M_MessageBus[7:0]. These signals are synchronous with the PCLK and are reset with Reset#.

Message Bus Interface Commands

The 4-bit commands are used for accessing the PIPE registers across the message bus. A transaction consists of a command and any associated address and data.

All the following are time multiplexed over the bus from MAC and PHY:

  1. Commands (write_uncommitted, write_committed, read, read completion, write_ack)
  2. 12-bit address used for all types and read and writes
  3. 8-bit data, either read or written

There can be cases where multiple PIPE interface signals can change on the same PCLK. To address such cases, the concept of write_uncommitted and write_committed is introduced.

The uncommitted write should be saved into a write buffer, and its associated data values are updated into the relevant PIPE register at a future time when a write_committed is received, taking effect during the same PCLK cycle. Once a write_committed is sent, no new writes, whether committed or uncommitted, and any read command may be sent until a write_ack is received. Also, it is allowed to send NOP commands between write uncommitted and write committed. 

A simple timing demonstration of message bus:

Message Address Space

MAC and PHY each implement unique 12-bit address spaces. These address spaces will host registers associated with the PIPE operations. MAC accesses PHY registers using M2P_MessageBus[7:0], and PHY accesses the MAC registers using the M2P_MessageBus[7:0].

The MAC and PHY access specific bits in the registers to: initiate operations, Initiate handshakes, and Indicate status.

Each 12-bit address space is divided into four main regions: the receiver address region, the transmitter address region, the common address region, and the vendor-specific address region.

Each register field has an attribute description of either level or 1-cycle assertion. When a level field is written, the value written is maintained by the hardware until the next write to that field or until a reset occurs. When a 1-cycle field is written to assert the value high, the hardware maintains the assertion for only a single cycle and then automatically resets the value to zero on the next cycle.

Cadence has a mature Verification IP solution for the verification of various aspects and topologies of PIPE PHY design. For more details, you may refer to the Simulation VIP for PIPE PHY | Cadence page, or you may send an email to support@cadence.com.




ac

Training Webinar: Fast Track RTL Debug with the Verisium Debug Python App Store

As a verification engineer, you’re surely looking for ways to automate the debugging process. Have you developed your own scripts to ease specific debugging steps that tools don’t offer? Working with scripts locally and manually is challenging—so is reusing and organizing them. What if there was a way to create your own app with the required functionality and register it with the tool? The answer to that question is “Yes!” The Verisium Debug Python App Store lets you instantly add additional features and capabilities to your Verisium Debug Application using Python Apps that interact with Verisium Debug via the Python API. Join me, Principal Education Application Engineer Bhairava Prasad, for this Training Webinar and discover the Verisium Debug Python App Store. The app store allows you to search for existing apps, learn about them, install or uninstall them, and even customize existing apps. Date and Time Wednesday, November 20, 2024 07:00 PST San Jose / 10:00 EST New York / 15:00 GMT London / 16:00 CET Munich / 17:00 IST Jerusalem / 20:30 IST Bangalore / 23:00 CST Beijing REGISTER To register for this webinar, sign in with your Cadence Support account (email ID and password) to log in to the Learning and Support System*. Then select Enroll to register for the session. Once registered, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing all login details. A quick reminder: If you haven’t received a registration confirmation within one hour of registering, please check your spam folder and ensure your pop-up blockers are off and cookies are enabled. For issues with registration or other inquiries, reach out to eur_training_webinars@cadence.com . Like this topic? Take this opportunity and register for the free online course related to this webinar topic: Verisium Debug Training To view our complete training offerings, visit the Cadence Training website Want to share this and other great Cadence learning opportunities with someone else? Tell them to subscribe . Hungry for Training? Choose the Cadence Training Menu that’s right for you. Related Courses Xcelium Simulator Training Course | Cadence Related Blogs Unveiling the Capabilities of Verisium Manager for Optimized Operations - Verification - Cadence Blogs - Cadence Community Verisium SimAI: SoC Verification with Unprecedented Coverage Maximization - Corporate News - Cadence Blogs - Cadence Community Verisium SimAI: Maximizing Coverage, Minimizing Bugs, Unlocking Peak Throughput - Verification - Cadence Blogs - Cadence Community Related Training Bytes Introducing Verisium Debug (Video) (cadence.com) Introduction to UVM Debug of Verisium Debug (Video) (cadence.com) Verisium Debug Customized Apps with Python API Please see course learning maps a visual representation of courses and course relationships. Regional course catalogs may be viewed here . *If you don’t have a Cadence Support account, go to Cadence User Registration and complete the requested information. Or visit Registration Help .




ac

Replace Cache useing TCL command

Hello,

I'm using OrCad 17.2 and in the company I'm wokring at there was a change in the database folder (from driver F to G for example) and it effects the option of synchronise using the Part Manager. and changing manually each part in the Desgin Cahce can be a pain.

Is there any way I can make a TCL script that will run and replace a part cahce with other? Better if I can call from a table to read, and write from other collum.

I would really be happy for an example.

Thanks for the help.




ac

QSPI Direct Access bare metal SW driver

Hello,

I'm reading the Design specification for IP6514E.

We will use the DAC mode.

It would seem to be very simple but I don't see any code sequence, i.e.

  1.Write 03(Basic Read) to this register

  2, Write start adress to this register

  3. Write "execute" to this register

  4. Read the data from this register

Thanks,

Stefan




ac

Formal Verification Approach for I2C Slave

Hello,

I am new in formal verification and I have a concept question about how to verify an I2C Slave block.

I think the response should be valid for any serial interface which needs to receive information for several clocks before making an action.

The the protocol description is the following: 

I have a serial clock (SCL), Serial Data Input (SDI) and Serial Data Output (SDO), all are ports of the I2C Slave block.

The protocol looks like this:

The first byte which is received by the slave consists in 7bits of sensor address and the 8th bit is the command 0/1 Write/Read.

After the first 8 bits, the slave sends an ACK (SDO = 1 for 1 clock) if the sensor address is correct.

Lets consider only this case, where I want to verify that the slave responds with an ACK if the sensor address is correct.

The only solution I found so far was to use the internal buffer from the block which saves the received bits during 8 clocks. The signal is called shift_s.

I also needed to use internal chip state (state_s) and an internal counter (shift_count_s).

Instead of doing an direct check of the SDO(sdo_o) depending on SDI (sdi_d_i), I used the internal shift_s register.

My question is if my approach is the correct one or there is a possibility to write the verification at a blackbox level.

Below you have the 2 properties: first checks connection from SDI to internal buffer, the second checks the connection between internal buffer and output.

property prop_i2c_sdi_store;
  @(posedge sclk_n_i)
  $past(i2c_bl.state_s == `STATE_RECEIVE_I2C_ADDR)
    |-> i2c_bl.shift_s == byte'({ $past(i2c_bl.shift_s), $past(sdi_d_i)});
endproperty
APF_I2C_CHECK_SDI_STORE: assert property(prop_i2c_sdi_store);

property prop_i2c_sensor_addr(sens_addr_sel, sens_addr);
@(posedge sclk_n_i) (i2c_bl.state_s == `STATE_RECEIVE_I2C_ADDR) && (i2c_addr_i == sens_addr_sel) && (i2c_bl.shift_count_s == 7)
  ##1 (i2c_bl.shift_s inside {sens_addr, sens_addr+1}) |-> sdo_o;
endproperty
APF_I2C_CHECK_SENSOR_ADDR0: assert property(prop_i2c_sensor_addr(0, `I2C_SENSOR_ADDRESS_A0));
APF_I2C_CHECK_SENSOR_ADDR1: assert property(prop_i2c_sensor_addr(1, `I2C_SENSOR_ADDRESS_A1));
APF_I2C_CHECK_SENSOR_ADDR2: assert property(prop_i2c_sensor_addr(2, `I2C_SENSOR_ADDRESS_A2));
APF_I2C_CHECK_SENSOR_ADDR3: assert property(prop_i2c_sensor_addr(3, `I2C_SENSOR_ADDRESS_A3));

PS: i2c_addr_i is address selection for the slave (there are 4 configurable sensor addresses, but this is not important for the case).

Thank you!




ac

The code used to Replace Cache useing TCL command

use the DBO function DboLib_RepalceCache to do the job of "Replace cache" 

in order to easy the job ,  type the code below . the code is a wrapper of the function metioned above

set lStatus [DboState]
set lSession $::DboSession_s_pDboSession
DboSession -this $lSession
set lDesignsIter [$lSession NewDesignsIter $lStatus]
set lDesign [$lDesignsIter NextDesign $lStatus]
set lNullObj NULL

set oldLibName [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString "E:\PROJECT_WORKLIB.OLB"]
set newLibName [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString "E:\MCU_PARTS_LIB.OLB"]

#DboLib_ReplaceCache wrapper
proc ReplaceCacheByName {partName} {
    global oldLibName
    global newLibName
    global lDesign
    set lPartStr [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString $partName]
    #set lNewStr [DboTclHelper_sMakeCString $newName]
    $lDesign ReplaceCache $lPartStr $oldLibName $lPartStr $newLibName 0 1
}

then use the tcl command like below to do the real job :

ReplaceCacheByName "CL10B104KB8NNNC_C12"




ac

Virtuoso Studio IC 23.1: Using Net Tracer for Design Review

This blog explores how Virtuoso Studio Net Tracer can help you perform a design review.

We’ll use the net connectivity option, which allows the user to get a clean highlighted net. You can use the Net Tracer tool to highlight the nets. You can find the Net Tracer command under the connectivity pulldown menu in the layout window.

Trace manager and the ability to display different islands on the same net with other colors, you can identify and connect the unconnected islands as you wish.

The Net Tracer utility traces the nets in the physical view (layout). The trace is a highlighted net, which is a non-selectable object. The Net Tracer utility is available from Virtuoso Layout Suite XL onwards. You can use this utility based on your specific needs and preferences.

For a better understanding of the Net Tracer feature, let’s see one scenario between the circuit designer and layout engineer for a layout design review.

Circuit designer: Can we go through the routed input nets “inm” and “inp”?

Layout engineer: From the below layout view where they are highlighted using the XL connectivity, today I will use Net Tracer utility for the design review.

Circuit designer: I have never heard of this feature. Let's see how it works.

Layout engineer: Sure, now we turn on the Net Tracer toolbar using the below option.

You see the Net Tracer options form here:

As you can see on my screen, I have opened the layout view and engaged the Net Tracer utility.

Net Tracer allows shapes to be traced on a net in two tracing modes, namely, physical and logical, where shapes on the same net are physically or logically connected.

Physical tracing gathers all the shapes physically connected on the same net.

Logical tracing gathers all the shapes assigned to the same net. It highlights the net as in the source design (schematic). It will highlight shapes on the same net, even if they are isolated shapes that are not physically connected.

For this scenario, let us use physical tracing for input nets “inm” and “inp."

Highlighted nets are shown below:

Net “inm”                    Net “inp”                   Nets “inm” and “inp” 

      

Net Tracer has features like physical and logical tracing, preview, step-by-step mode, ease of tracing a net on a shape out of multiple underlying shapes, and so on.

Let us explore logical tracing for output nets “outm” and “outp”:

Here, you can see how to enable true color and halo before enabling logical tracing to identify the metal route. After enabling the true color halo, enable the logical trace.

Here, I am opening the trace manager to search “outm” and “outp” and click trace. That will trace the particular nets as shown.

Net Tracer has a preview feature, which is helpful in terms of the number of previewed objects. This preview capability hints at how the trace would appear when you create it. This useful feature in Virtuoso Studio highlights both completed and incomplete nets, helping the user better understand the status of the highlighted nets.

Circuit designer: Thanks for the design review. You have done good work. Net Tracer clearly shows both types of tracing, and it was even easy for the circuit designer to understand.

Layout engineer: Let me share the link to the Net Tracer RAK, where other layout engineers can explore many more amazing features of the Net Tracer.

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  • On the Cadence Support portal, select Register Now and provide the requested information on the Registration page.
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  • If you need help with registration, contact support@cadence.com.

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If you have questions about courses, schedules, online, public, or live onsite training, reach out to us at Cadence Training.

For any questions, general feedback, or future blog topic suggestions, please leave a comment.

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Related Resources

 Videos

Invoking the MarkNet, Net Tracer command and its options

Net Tracer Features

Video: Net Tracer saving and loading saved trace, neighboring shapes of trace

Net Tracer: Physical Tracing – Step mode

Net Tracer: Physical and Logical Tracing

Video: Net Tracer show preview option, from net and display options, shape count in trace

Video: Net Tracer using a constraint group with different display mode settings and  using the Trace Manager GUI

 RAK

Introduction to Net Tracer

 Product manual

Virtuoso Layout Suite XL: Connectivity Driven Editing User Guide IC23.1

About Knowledge Booster Training Bytes

Knowledge Booster Training Bytes is an online journal that relays information about Cadence Training videos, online courses, and upcoming webinars that are available in the Learning section of the Cadence Learning and Support portal. This blog category brings you direct links to these videos, courses, and other related material on a regular basis.

Sandhya.

On behalf of the Cadence Training team




ac

SPB17.4 installation package build defect

1, Some components in the installation package cannot choose to install; even if they do not choose them, they will still be installed; just less shortcut icons, the documents are still released to the installation directory.

2, "Catia Application Frame" repeat the problem?
       “x:CadenceSPB_17.4 oolsin“
       ”x:CadenceSPB_17.4 oolsspatial“
       "Catia Application Frame" shouldn't you use the latest version?

3,Follow-up update patch cleaning the useless files and extra empty folder action !!!

The SPB17.4 installation package is currently the worst installation package I have seen for large-scale software packaging.




ac

Sense line and decoupling capacitors

Hello,

A mybe silly question came to my mind: When routing sense lines, is it better to hav them as close as possible to DUT or afer the decoupling capacitors ?

Force in red, sense in purple.

Best way is 1 or 2 ?

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas to everybody !




ac

New CDF creation and callback

I need to add a new CDF parameter called "mag" to symbols in a given library using skill script in which the symbol size can be controlled and call back it each time this library is used so that all the symbols are updated.




ac

Cannot access individual noise contributions using SpectreMDL

I have tried replicating the setup described in a previous post (here), with the proposed solution.

 

The MDL measurements return a value of 0 for all exported result but the first.

Using Viva I can actually see the correct value for each contribution.

I am using :
- Spectre 23.1.0.538.isr10
- Viva IC23.1-64b.ISR8.40

What should I do differently?

Thanks!

***** test.scs *****
r1 (1 0) res_model l=10e-6 w=2e-6
r2 (2 1) res_model l=15e-6 w=2e-6
vr (2 0) vsource dc=1.0 mag=1
model res_model resistor rsh=100 kf=1e-20*exp(dkf)
parameters dkf=0
statistics {
  process {
    vary dkf dist=gauss std=0.5
  }
}

noi (1 0) noise freq=1

/***** test.mdl *****/
alias measurement noi_test {
  run noi;
  export real noi_total=noi_test:out;
  export real r1_total=r1:total;
  export real r1_flicker=r1:fn;
  export real r1_thermal=r1:rn;
  export real r2_total=r2:total;
  export real r2_flicker=r2:fn;
  export real r2_thermal=r2:rn;
}

run noi_test

**** test.measure ****

Measurement Name   :  noi_test
Analysis Type      :  noise
noi_total             =  6.9282e-06
r1_flicker            =  0
r1_thermal            =  0
r1_total              =  0
r2_flicker            =  0
r2_thermal            =  0
r2_total              =  0