Tanner backs OpenAccess to improve analogue and mixed signal design
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Tanner EDA has upgraded its HiPer Silicon design suite to version 16. The upgrade is said by the company to offer a complete analogue and mixed signal design flow, ranging from HDL and Spice design to physical layout and verification.
An important development is support of the OpenAccess design database. Paul Double, pictured, managing director of Tanner's European representative EDA Solutions, said the move to OpenAccess is important for two reasons.
"Not only does it undermine closed design flows, it's also easier to use," he commented. "In you're working in the same database format, it doesn't matter when you go to other tools that support the format and everyone's tools become interoperable. That means users can select the best point tools or the cheapest."
According to Double, customers and prospects can now consider Tanner tools for their design flow or supplement their existing flow with Tanner licenses at particular points. "For example, a company might have small number of complete flow licenses, but have other engineers who only need access to part of flow. It will be more cost effective."
Amongst the new layout features of v16 are: collaborative design and multiuser design control; improved file loading and rendering; and better physical verification performance. Meanwhile, front end improvements include: integrated mixed signal simulation; and parametric plots, scatter plots and improved text control and graphics manipulation.
Double says HiPer can now perform true mixed signal simulation. "We can handle analogue in analogue and digital in digital, while handling the handshaking. The upgrade also allows larger digital circuits to be designed. We're targeting the big A, little D market, but we now have more to offer in the digital domain."
HiPer Silicon v16 is available now for the Windows operating system, with a Linux version available later in Q2 2013.
