John Gallagher, director of marketing for ASIC products at Synplicity, said the company has developed router-independent Sensitive Net Analysis and Prevention (Snap) technology for the latest version of Amplify. Snap will help designers identify what Gallagher called "ambiguous routes," or variations in the routing topology created by a physical-synthesis tool and the topology of the final design. Such routes typically occur when a physical-synthesis tool generates multiple fanout nets, where numerous topologies could connect drivers to all loads, he said. A router will typically introduce timing and signal-integrity problems when routing the nets, he said.

Snap technology enables tight timing closure no matter which router is used, since it identifies and analyzes ambiguous routes, Gallagher said.

Designers may not think of the sensitive nets as being critical, yet they can still cause crosstalk or signal-integrity problems, he said.

Synplicity is also announcing that it is currently beta testing a new version of its Synplify ASIC logic-synthesis tool that doesn't rely on older wire load models for timing information.

The new version, set to be released at midyear, uses placement and automatic initial floor-planning data to draw a timing estimation that can replace or supplement less accurate wire load models.

Amplify ASIC with the Snap technology will be available in March. A two-year term license for the Amplify ASIC software starts at $90,000 and a perpetual license of Amplify ASIC software starts at $230,000. Snap functionality is included in the vendor-specific structured-ASIC versions of the tool.