An AMS Designer Flex simulation gives you the most immediate access to the latest simulation technology on either side, gets out of the way of the core engines and allows the engine performance to shine while providing access to new features. Check out this blog to know more.

This blog introduces you to an efficient way to debug interface elements or connect modules in a mixed-signal simulation.(read more)

Read this blog for an overview to the Circuit physical verification and parasitic extraction design stage in the Custom IC Design methodology and the key design steps which can help you achieve this.(read more)

Concurrent Layout Editing enables more than one designer to work in a hierarchy at the same time. Check out this blog to know more. (read more)

This blog introduces the new Voltus-XFi Custom Power Integrity Solution, a transistor-level EM-IR tool that enables designers to complete comprehensive analysis and debugging easily and quickly.(read more)

Hello,

I have a sensitive trace on layer 2 and I would like to prevent any routing along or across it on adjacent layers (L1 and L3).

My idea was to use a route keepout shape on L1 and L3, however that also removed the ground pour on those layers and I would like to keep the ground pour.

Can I get around this somehow or should I use something else than route keepout?

Regards,

Filip

Hello everyone!

Have you ever used the axlDllOpen function for Allegro 16.6?

It doesn't work for me. Please give me your solution.
Thank you.

HoangKhoi

Hai Community,

What are the differences between the Cadence OrCAD / Allegro 24.1 with the Altium Designer 24.

Can I get the grid matrix difference between these two tools?

Regards,

Rohit Rohan

Has anyone experienced the same situation?

Socionext, a leader in SoC design, recently made significant strides in enhancing its design efficiency for a complex billion-gate project. Faced with the initial challenges of lengthy eight-day iterations and a protracted two-month timing signoff process, the objective was to reduce the iteration cycle to just three days. By integrating Cadence's cutting-edge solutions—Certus Closure Solution, Tempus Timing Solution, and Quantus Extraction Solution—Socionext achieved remarkable improvements.

Notably, the Tempus DSTA tool dramatically cut timing closure time by 73%, outperforming conventional single-machine STA methods. This achievement, combined with the synergistic use of Cadence's Certus Closure and Tempus Timing solutions, allowed Socionext to meet their ambitious three-day iteration target and double productivity. Additionally, integrating these solutions significantly decreased both human and machine resource needs, slashing memory and disk costs by up to 90% and halving engineering resources during the optimization and signoff phases.

For more on this collaboration, check out the "Designed with Cadence" success story video on Cadence's website and YouTube channel.

Also, don't miss the on-demand webinar "Fast, Accurate STA for Large-Scale Design Challenges," which provides a deeper dive into Socionext's breakthroughs and the innovative solutions that powered their success.

The blog discusses Voltus InsightAI RAK that is designed to give you an accelerated start on the execution of Voltus InsightAI flow.(read more)

The world of electronics design thrives on efficient tools that bridge the gap between concept and silicon. Virtuoso Digital Implementation is a powerful ally for mixed-signal designs, which integrate both analog and digital components. This blog post will examine Virtuoso Digital Implementation's capabilities and explore how it can streamline your mixed-signal design workflow.

Virtuoso Digital Implementation in a Nutshell

Virtuoso Digital Implementation is a license package within the Cadence Virtuoso Design Platform. It offers a streamlined RTL-to-GDSII flow to implement smaller digital blocks within a mixed-signal design environment. Here's what makes Virtuoso Digital Implementation stand out:

• Focus on Small Digital Blocks: Optimized for digital blocks with an instance count of up to 50,000 (expandable to 150,000 with specific configurations), Virtuoso Digital Implementation is ideal for integrating digital logic into your analog-centric design.
• Leveraging Industry Leaders: Virtuoso Digital Implementation utilizes cut-down versions of the renowned Cadence Genus Synthesis Solution and Innovus Implementation System under the hood. This ensures you get access to proven technologies for logic optimization and place-and-route.
• Seamless Integration with the Virtuoso Environment: Virtuoso Digital Implementation's key advantage is its tight integration with the Virtuoso Layout Suite. You can launch the synthesis and place-and-route tools directly from the Virtuoso environment, eliminating the need to switch between platforms.

Benefits of Using Virtuoso Digital Implementation

 By incorporating Virtuoso Digital Implementation into your mixed-signal design flow, you can get several benefits:

• Simplified Workflow: Virtuoso Digital Implementation offers a centralized environment for both digital block implementation and layout editing within the Virtuoso environment. This reduces context switching and streamlines the design process.
• Faster Time-to-Market: Virtuoso Digital Implementation's streamlined workflow can significantly reduce design turnaround times, allowing you to get your product to market quicker.
• Improved Design Quality: Leveraging industry-leading synthesis and place-and-route engines from Cadence ensures high-quality digital block implementation within your mixed-signal design.

Who Should Consider Virtuoso Digital Implementation?

 Virtuoso Digital Implementation is a valuable tool for anyone working on mixed-signal designs with smaller digital blocks. It's particularly well-suited for:

• Analog IC designers who need to integrate digital logic into their designs.
• Circuit design teams working on mixed-signal applications like data converters, power management ICs, and RF transceivers.

Virtuoso Digital Implementation provides a compelling solution for designers working on mixed-signal projects. Its streamlined workflow, tight integration with the Virtuoso design platform, and access to proven digital design tools can significantly improve design efficiency and time-to-market. Virtuoso Digital Implementation is worth considering if you're looking to optimize your mixed-signal design flow.

I am here to help and guide you on how to learn more about Virtuoso Digital Implementation flow.

Welcome to Virtuoso Digital Implementation, an online course recently released. This course teaches implementing digital blocks using Cadence tools based on the Virtuoso Digital Implementation flow. Also, you can download a lab database after the lecture and get hands-on experience in each stage.

Want to Enroll in this Course?

We organize this Virtuoso Digital Implementation training for you as a "Blended" or "Live" training. Please reach out to Cadence Training for further information.

Register for the Online Training with the following steps:

• Log on to cadence.com with your registered Cadence ID and password.
• Select Learning from the menu > Online Courses.
• Search for Virtuoso Digital Implementation using the search bar.
• Select the course and click Enroll.

And don't forget to obtain your Digital Badge after completing the training!

Related Resources

Online Courses

• Cadence RTL-to-GDSII Flow v6.0
• Virtuoso Digital Implementation Training

Training Byte Videos

• How Do You Run Placement Optimization in the Innovus Implementation System?
• How to Run the Synthesis Without DFT?
• How to Run the Synthesis Flow with DFT?
• Creating Power Rings, Power Stripes, and Power Rails in the Innovus Implementation System
• How to Run Power Analysis and Analyze the Results in Innovus?

Happy Learning!

Training Bytes are not just short technical videos; they are particularly designed to provide comprehensive support in understanding and learning various concepts and methodologies.

These comprehensive yet small Training Bytes can be created to show various concepts and processes in a shorter pane of five to ten minutes, for example, running DFT synthesis, scanning insertion, inserting advanced testability features, test point insertion, debugging DFT violations, etc.

In this blog, we will show you the DFT Synthesis Flow with Cadence's Genus Synthesis Solution using small Training Bytes available on the Cadence Learning and Support Portal. To explore these training bytes more, log on to support.cadence.com and select the learning section to choose the training videos, as shown below.

DFT Synthesis Flow with Genus Synthesis Solution

First, we will understand the Synthesis Flow with DFT in the Genus Synthesis Solution:

Understanding a Script File that Used to Run the Synthesis Flow With DFT

Here, we will show you "How to run the Test Synthesis Flow to Insert Scan Chains and Improve the Testability of a Design" in the Genus Synthesis Solution:

Running Test Synthesis Flow to Insert Scan Chains And Improve the Testability of a Design in the Genus Synthesis Solution

Let's check the flops marked with the dft_mapped attribute for scan mapping in Genus Synthesis Solution:

How to Check Flops Marked With dft_mapped Attribute For Scan Mapping in Genus Synthesis Solution?

How to Find Non-Scan Flops of a Design in Genus? (Video)

Once the flops are mapped to scan flip flops and the scan chain inserted, we will see how to handle the flops marked with the dft_dont_scan attribute for scan mapping in Genus Synthesis Solution.

How to Handle the Flops Marked With the dft_dont_scan Attribute For Scan Mapping in Genus Synthesis Solution?

Here, we will see how to fix DFT Violations using the command fix_dft_violations:

Fixing DFT Violations (Video)

Once the design has been synthesized, let's explore the DFT design hierarchy in Genus Stylus CUI:

Exploring DFT Design Hierarchy in Genus Stylus CUI (Video)

Understand why sequential elements are not mapped to a scan flop:

Why Are Sequential Elements Not Mapped to a Scan Flop?

Explore hierarchical scan synthesis in Genus Stylus Common UI:

Understanding Hierarchical Scan Synthesis in Genus Stylus Common UI. (Video)

To understand how to resolve different warnings and errors (for example, DFT-415, DFT-512, DFT-304, etc.) in Genus Synthesis Solution, here are some videos you can refer to:

How to Resolve Warning: DFT-415 (Video)

How to Resolve Error: DFT-407 (Video)

How to Resolve Error: DFT-404 (Video)

DFT-510 Warning During Mapping (Video)

How to Resolve Warning: DFT-512 (Video)

How to Resolve Warning: DFT-511 (Video)

How to Resolve Warning: DFT-304 (Video)

How to Resolve Warning: DFT-302 (Video)

How to Resolve Error: DFT-515 (Video)

How to Resolve Error: DFT-500 (Video)

Here, we will see how we can generate SDC constraints for DFT constructs for many scan insertion techniques, such as FULLSCAN, OPCG, Boundary Scan, PMBIST, XOR Compression, SmartScan Compression, LBIST, and IEEE 1500:

How to Generate SDC Constraints for DFT Constructs in Genus Synthesis Solution? (Video)

Explore advanced testability features that can be inserted in Genus Synthesis Solution, such as Boundary Scan, Programmable Memory built-in Self-Test Logic (PMBIST), Compression Logic, Masking, and On-Product Clock Generation Logic (OPCG):

Advanced Testability Features (Video)

To understand What the IEEE 1500 Wrapper and its Insertion Flow in Genus Synthesis Solution, follow the bytes:

What Is IEEE 1500 Wrapper? (Video)

IEEE 1500 Wrapper Insertion Flow in Genus Synthesis Solution (Video)

Understand the On-product Clock Generation (OPCG) insertion flow in Genus Synthesis Solution Stylus CUI with this byte:

Understanding On Product Clock Generator (OPCG) Insertion in Genus Stylus CUI (Video)

To debug DFT violations, you can use DFT Analyzer from Genus GUI and explore its features here:

Debugging Using GUI: DFT Analyzer (Video)

Exploring DFT Analyzer View of Genus Synthesis Solution GUI (Video)

To understand What is Shadow Logic, How to Insert Test Points, How to do Testability Analysis Using LBIST, and How to Deterministic Fault Analysis in Genus, follow this article:

What is Shadow Logic

To insert the Boundary Scan Logic in and control Boundary Optimization in Genus Synthesis Solution, refer to these small bytes:

How to Insert Boundary Scan Logic in Genus? Video)

Controlling Boundary Optimization in Genus Synthesis Solution Stylus CUI (Video)

Compression techniques are used during scan insertion to reduce the test data volume and test application time (TAT) while retaining the test coverage. To understand what compression and the compression techniques are, watch this article:

What is Compression Technique During Scan Insertion? (Video)

Interested to know what "Unified Compression" is? To get the concept, you can watch this small demo:

What Is Unified Compression? (Video)

To Explore More, Register for Online Training

• Log on to Cadence.com with your registered Cadence ID and password.
• Select Learning from the menu > Online Courses.
• Search for "Test Synthesis with Genus Stylus Common UI" using the search bar.
• Select the course and click "Enroll."

In an era of abundant and constantly evolving information, the challenge is not just accessing knowledge but understanding and applying it effectively. AI is a transformative technology that is reshaping how we learn, work, and grow. In this blog, we’ll explore how AI accelerates our knowledge acquisition and understand how it can relate to the process of learning, which connects with our daily lives.

The role of AI is to accelerate knowledge by personalizing learning experiences, providing instant access to information, and offering data-driven insights. AI empowers us to learn more efficiently and effectively in many ways. I won't go into much detail, as we are already busy searching for the meaning of AI and what it can do; however, I want to share one inspiring fact about AI. It can analyze vast amounts of data in seconds, making sense of complex information and providing instantaneous actionable insights or concise answers. I understand that humans are looking to speed up things, which can help us understand technology better and perform our tasks faster.

The main reason AI is in focus is because of its ability to perform tasks faster than ever. We aim to enhance the performance of all our products, including the everyday household electronic items we use. Similarly, are we striving to accelerate the learning process? I am committed to assisting you, and one such method is concise, short (minute-long) videos.

In today's fast-paced world, where attention spans are shorter than ever, the rise of social media platforms has made it easier for anyone to create and share short videos. This is where minute videos come in. These bite-sized clips offer a quick and engaging way to deliver information to the audience with a significant impact. Understanding the definitions of technical terms in VLSI Design can often be accomplished in just a minute.

Below are the definitions of the essential stages in the RTL2GDSII Flow. For further reference, these definitions are also accessible on YouTube.

Want to Learn More?

The Cadence RTL-to-GDSII Flow training is available as both "Blended" and "Live" Please reach out to Cadence Training for further information.

And don't forget to obtain your Digital Badge after completing the training!

• You can check out a free Online Version of the training above, which is available 24/7 for all customers with a Cadence Learning ans Support Portal
• You will also have access to our Training Byte Library then which is full of hundres of troubleshooting videos, like the following: What is Digital Implementation?
• You can find more instructions how to get the best out of the Portal in this blog.
• If you would like to stay up-to-date with the latest news and information about Cadence trainings and webinars, subscribe to the Cadence Training emails.

Related Blogs

Training Insights – Why Is RTL Translated into Gate-Level Netlist?

Did You Miss the RTL-to-GDSII Webinar? No Worries, the Recording Is Available!

It’s the Digital Era; Why Not Showcase Your Brand Through a Digital Badge!

Binge on Chip Design Concepts this Weekend!

In the era of Artificial Intelligence, front-end designers need a magical key to empower them with technology that enables fully optimized RTL for implementation handoff and provides RTL designers with capabilities to accurately assist in the implementation convergence process.

The magic lies with Cadence Joules RTL Design Studio, an expert system that leverages generative AI for RTL design exploration, triages possible causes of violations, and additional insights that empower designers to understand how to address issues in their RTL, leading to smarter and more efficient chip design.

This unlocks the immense debugging and design analysis capabilities from a single, unified cockpit, enabling fully optimized RTL design prior to implementation handoff for the front-end designers and addresses all aspects of physical design by adding visibility into power, performance, area, and congestion (PPAC)

One critical component is the clock tree, which distributes the clock signal to all sequential elements, such as flip-flops and latches. Designers need the right techniques in the beginning stage to optimize the clock tree structure, ensuring that their designs meet the required timing specifications, reduce power consumption, maintain signal integrity, and increase reliability.

 This incredible feature is part of the Joules RTL Design Studio.

How do you efficiently explore the clock tree structure to optimize the results using Joules RTL Design Studio?

Joules Studio allows viewing a simplified version of the clock structure. This feature is primarily designed to help display clock frequency scaling through clock dividers. You can customize colors, symbols, and design elements using an input file. Additionally, you can cross-probe the custom clock tree structure to other widgets and the main schematic view in Joules Studio.

Moreover, with the clock tree preference features of the ideal clock tree wizard in Joules Studio GUI, you can highlight clock path, generate clocks and master clock, set case analysis, fold and unfold instances, undo and redo, set sense and disable timing, color preference, etc.

You can binge on these features through the channel videos posted on the support portal, which covers the Joules RTL Design Studio GUI Clock Tree Structure and Features of Ideal Clock Tree Wizard.

You can refer to the videos on Cadence Online Support (Cadence login required).

​Video Links:
Viewing Custom Clock Tree Structure in Joules RTL Design Studio (Video) 

Exploring Clock Tree Preference Widget of Ideal Clock Tree Wizard in Joules RTL Design Studio (Video) 

Want to learn more?

Explore the one-stop solution Joules RTL Design Studio Product Page on Cadence Online Support (Cadence login required).

Related Resources 

Related Training Bytes:

Understanding Prototype Design Flow in Joules RTL Design Studio (Video)

Running Prototype Implementation Flow in Joules RTL Design Studio (Video)

Understanding Analyze Timing By Hierarchy In Joules RTL Design Studio (Video)

Related Courses:

• Joules Power Calculator

Want to Enroll in this Course?

We organize this training for you as a "Blended" or "Live" training. Please reach out to Cadence Training for further information.

Please don't forget to obtain your Digital Badge after completing the training.

Related Blogs:

Let's Discover the Secret to Enhance Design's PPAC in a Single Cockpit! - Digital Design - Cadence Blogs - Cadence Community

Joules RTL Design Studio: Accelerating Fully Optimized RTL - Digital Design - Cadence Blogs - Cadence Community

Let's Replay the Process of Power Estimation with the Power of 'x'! - Digital Design - Cadence Blogs - Cadence Community

Is Design Power Estimation Lowering Your Power? Delegate and Relax! - Digital Design - Cadence Blogs - Cadence Community

New York continues to reign as leader of fDi’s American Cities of the Future 2019/20 ranking. San Francisco retains second place with Toronto rising to third. Naomi Davies reports.

A more detailed look at fDi's judges’ top five American Cities of the Future 2019/20 for FDI strategy. Naomi Davies reports.

Singapore has retained its place at the top of fDi's Asia-Pacific Cities of the Future ranking, with Shanghai and Tokyo completing the top three list. 

Russia remains fDi’s most diversified commodity economy, while second ranked Brazil has displaced Ukraine into third place. Cathy Mullan reports.

In spite of the uncertainty caused by Brexit, London retains its position as fDi's European City of the Future for 2020/21, while Paris keeps the regional crown.

London has retained its position as fDi’s European City of the Future, while Paris has climbed to second place, knocking Dublin into the third spot. 

London is crowned best major city in Europe in fDi's FDI Strategy category, with Glasgow, Vilnius, Reykjavik and Galway also winning out.

North Rhine-Westphalia is fDi's top large region for FDI Strategy, with the Basque Country topping the table for mid-sized regions and Ireland South East first among small regions. 

London LEP and Thames Valley Berkshire LEP hold on to their respective first and second places in the Local Enterprise Partnership rankings, while Oxfordshire LEP jumps up eight places to third. 

Having opened new production facilities in Rwanda and South Africa, Mara Phones is looking to alter Africa's mindset from being a 'consumer' to being a 'manufacturer'. 

Tesla's decision part of broader trend of investment into Germany at UK's expense.

Despite its thriving automotive sector, Gothenburg is vulnerable to global economic pressures. However, local authorities are confident that their strategies will see the city ride out the uncertainties related to Brexit and the US-China trade wars.

Passion Capital's Eileen Burbidge talks to fDi about what fintech companies should consider when expanding internationally, and why London will always be a key market in the sector.

Despite nurturing its R&D capacity, the city of Braunschweig lags its German peers in attracting FDI. Now it hopes a focus on the mobility sector will mean its technical skills are matched with investment.

Marcus Weldon, chief technology officer of Nokia and president of its research arm Nokia Bell Labs, talks about what guided the decision to set up a new global R&D centre and the company’s strategy for driving innovation

Bradford has been rated as the most improved city by the Good Growth for Cities 2019 index, while Oxford remained the highest performing UK city.

ING Media names Tokyo, New York, London and Paris as global super brands for digital visibility.

India’s 2020 budget continues the process of opening up to overseas investment.

Steve Armitage, general manager of destination at Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development explains why the New Zealand city’s international profile is growing so fast.

Despite recurrent challenges, Afghanistan’s business environment is improving. Now the authorities are working to persuade investors the rewards are worth the risk through a series of economic and legal reforms. 

Asia outstrips the world for tourist arrivals and is still experiencing growth. Constant maintenance and upgrade are essential to maintain this lead.

Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, Pakistan’s UK high commissioner, talks about his country’s potential for foreign investors.

The situation between the US and China is bad news for South Korea’s investment climate.

Uruguay-based Zonamerica has successfully expanded into Colombia and China, and is now looking to export its model to other parts of Asia and Africa.

We are currently in a state of heightened business and economic disruption and sociopolitical activism, which only looks set to intensify. 

President Obrador aims to mobilise billions in public and private investment to create an alternative to the Panama Canal along the Tehuantepec corridor. 

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank is to launch a digital currency for the benefit of its dispersed island economies – essential to a region that has been disproportionately affected by climate change-induced disasters, governor Timothy Antoine tells fDi.

Venture capital funding has reached record levels in recent years, enabling start-ups to expand across borders – but their ability to do this depends on their type of business, and where they are founded.

Replacing the “nightmare” that was Nafta was a dream of US president Donald Trump – but its replacement appears to favour few groups except for dispute resolution firms.

Up to 18 countries across Latin America have joined China’s new Belt and Road Initiative, hoping to boost their infrastructure development and investment.  

Wavteq's Henry Loewendahl discusses which sectors retain potential for foreign investment amid the current global crisis 

The Dutch appeal court has reinstated a major $50bn award to Yukos shareholders by Russia, in a long-running dispute.

Foreign investment in the global renewable energy market hit unprecedented highs in 2019. However, the coronavirus crisis may reverse this trend. 

Maserati Shamal restomod project in the works Restomod will use Biturbo Coupe body and Ghibli S twin-turbocharged V-6 Production to be limited to 33 units The Maserati Shamal launched in 1990 didn't see much success, despite featuring a body penned by the legendary Marcello Gandini, and a twin-turbocharged V-8 under the hood. It was devised when...

Cadillac Vistiq revealed as brand's “globally sized” electric three-row SUV Vistiq comes standard with 615 hp and 102 kwh Pricing starts at $78,790, including destination Cadillac's expansion of its electric vehicle lineup continues with the arrival of the 2026 Vistiq, a midsize SUV with third-row seats designed to fill the gap between...