Infiniscale claims DFY prediction to analog, mixed-signal chips

NICE, France " French EDA startup Infiniscale SA, provider of modeling, model-based synthesis and parametric yield solutions, has introduced at the Design Automation and Test in Europe (DATE) Conference in Nice, France, this week, new releases of its analog systems modelling, synthesis and design-for-manufacturing (DFM), design-for-yield (DFY) product suite.

According to Infiniscale, a fundamental characteristic of analog/radiofrequency technology development is the sensitivity of analog components, MEMS and circuits to the various manufacturability/performance tradeoffs that must be achieved. The iterative loop between designers and technologists is critical for timely product development. This problem is becoming a major stake at nanometer scale.

Firas Mohammed, Infiniscale's cofounder, president and CEO, declared: "Current technologies are based on iterative methods and cannot provide a reliable solution to the emerging miniaturization problems. Infiniscale breaks the iterative loops and offers the unique approach that is able to optimize both the design flow and the resources."

Infiniscale claims the next generation of its tools enables to handle process variations and design parameters so as to ensure "robust synthesis and yield improvement". These tools are TechModeler, a definitive solution to behavioural modelling problems, TechSynthesizer, an autonomous software that allows designers to automatically synthesize their devices, and TechAnalyzer that includes sensitivity analysis taking into account random variations of input parameters.

Infiniscale has been working with STMicroelectronics NV and said its technology has been validated on ST's patented BGA inductor technology, which included up to 12-input and 3-output parameters and a frequency range of 1 to 15 GHz. For instance, TechSynthesizer achieved more than 98-percent accuracy, noted the company.

Infiniscale was created in 2005 in Meylan, near Grenoble, France.