Mentor rolls power integrity analysis for PCBs

Avoiding over-conservative design
"We have advanced users today that are required to design over 30 power delivery structures into a single PCB, driven by the multiple voltage levels and power requirements of their high-performance ICs," said Henry Potts, vice president and general manager of Mentor's Systems Design division.

"The design of these structures requires quick and accurate analysis of both DC power drop and power noise," Potts said. "With accurate analysis, the power and ground plane structures and de-coupling capacitor number, as well as placements, can be determined, thus avoiding over-conservative design and higher product cost."

HyperLynx PI provides pre- and post-layout analysis of irregular power and ground plane structures incorporating the exact IC pin locations and models, according to Mentor. The results of the analysis can be both visual and textual, enabling the designer to quickly identify and resolve power and/or ground plane structure problems, the company said. HyperLynx also provides accurate analysis of the power integrity, enabling the designer to determine the best number, placement and values of de-coupling capacitors, Mentor said.

HyperLynx PI product is available now to select customers with pricing starting at $35,000, according to Mentor. General release is targeted for later this quarter, the company said. The product integrates with Mentor's Expedition, Enterprise, PADS and Board Station flows as well as third party pc board design solutions such as Allegro and CR 5000, Mentor said.