Synopsys officially enters analog/mixed-signal EDA market

According to Synopsys (Mountain View, Calif.), Galaxy Custom Designer is the first implementation tool built natively on the OpenAccess database for legacy designs as well as a new componentized infrastructure designed to support interoperability with foundry process design kits (PDKs).

Synopsys said Galaxy Custom Designer leverages the company's Galaxy Design Platform to provide a unified solution for custom and digital designs. The tool offers a common use model for simulation, analysis, parasitic extraction and physical verification, according to the company.

Synopsys demonstrated Galaxy Custom Designer, formerly codenamed Orion, at the Design Automation Conference in June and at the company's San Jose users' group event in March.

The official Synopsys entry into the analog mixed-signal tool market comes a few weeks after rival Magma Design Automation Inc. introduced its Titan analog/mixed-signal design tool. Both vendors are looking to wrestle away a piece of a market long dominated by EDA market leader Cadence Design Systems Inc. The analog/mixed-signal EDA market is worth an estimated $400 million per year, according to Gary Smith EDA.

"Our customers have long requested a modern alternative to the custom design solutions currently on the market," said Aart de Geus, Synopsys chairman and CEO, in a statement.

De Geus said the company aims to do for customers what it was done with digital implementation by using open architecture tightly coupled to the company's Galaxy Design Platform and analog mixed-signal verification and intellectual property (IP) products.

Galaxy Custom Designer enables complete data transparency with Synopsys' IC Compiler physical implementation solution, allowing the exchange of information during floorplanning, placement, routing and final chip editing to reduce design iterations, according to the company.

Synopsys said Galaxy Custom Designer was architected from the ground up to emphasize productivity, with key modules including a schematic editor featuring on-canvas editing and dynamic net highlighting. The simulation environment provides a common use model allowing access to Synopsys simulators, while the layout editor features a real-time preview of p-cell parameter changes, the company said. Results from Synopsys' Hercules DRC/LVS and Star-RCXT parasitic extraction tools are dynamically available within Galaxy Custom Designer, the company said.

Fu-Chieh Hsu, vice president of Design & Technology Platform at leading foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said TSMC is collaborating with Sysnopsys on the industry's first interoperable PDK for the 65-nm node, "a single PDK that supports multiple environments, including the latest innovations such as Custom Designer."