AltaSens Tapes Out Multimillion-Gate, High-Performance CMOS Image Sensor With Magma's Blast Create and Blast Fusion; Seamless RTL-to-GDSII Flow Eliminated Iterations, Reduced Cost of Design and Improved QoR.SANTA CLARA Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , Calif. -- Magma(R) Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA), a provider of semiconductor design software, today announced that AltaSens, the premier supplier of high-performance image sensors for high-definition video This article is about high-definition video technology. For television systems, see High-definition television. For the tape format, see HDV. For compression and prerecorded media, see High-definition pre-recorded media and compression. , taped out a multimillion-gate, high-performance, mixed-signal image sensor using Blast Create(TM) and Blast Fusion(TM). "Two key issues for us are increasing performance and reducing area for our chip designs, and Magma makes that possible," said Roberto Marchesini, director of Engineering of AltaSens. "Blast Create and Blast Fusion concurrently optimize for timing and area, delivering significantly better quality of results and faster turnaround." The Blast Create RTL-to-placed-gates and Blast Fusion physical design software provided advanced capabilities that were key to enabling AltaSens to meet their performance and time-to-market goals. The large pixel array of the AltaSens design had to fit into very tight area constraints and odd-shaped regions. Magma's tightly integrated RTL-to-GDSII flow enabled AltaSens to meet the area and shape constraints and still meet tight timing requirements. The system-on-chip CMOS image sensor A CMOS-based chip that records the intensities of light as variable charges similar to a CCD chip. Although initially used in less expensive digital cameras, the quality of CMOS sensors has improved steadily. CMOS sensors have advantages over CCDs. required very sensitive analog circuits to coexist with very large digital systems on the same die. This made controlling coupling and noise injection between the two domains a big challenge. With the help of Magma's advanced placement features, AltaSens designers were able to achieve a fully automated methodology to implement their decoupling Decoupling The occurrence of returns on asset classes diverging from their normal pattern of correlation. Notes: Take for example stock and corporate bond returns, which normally rise and fall together. techniques. "AltaSens is an innovative startup in an exciting new market segment," said Kam Kittrell, general manager of Magma's Design Implementation Business Unit. "We're pleased that Blast Create and Blast Fusion were effective in meeting AltaSens' design requirements." About Magma's Integrated RTL-to-GDSII Design System Each component of the Magma system is based on a unified data model and uses the same timing, power and signal integrity and yield analysis and optimization engines. Blast Create is a next-generation front-end solution that enables logic designers to synthesize, visualize, evaluate and improve the quality of their RTL (Register Transfer Level) A high-level hardware description language (HDL) for defining digital circuits. The circuits are described as a collection of registers, Boolean equations, control logic such as "if-then-else" statements as well as complex event sequences; code, design constraints, testability requirements, floorplan and placement. Blast Fusion is an advanced netlist-to-GDSII chip implementation system for high-performance, high-complexity and low-power designs being implemented in 130-nanometer (nm) and finer process geometries. With tight integration and advanced capabilities, Magma's integrated RTL-to-GDSII solutions enable designers to concurrently address deep submicron design challenges during the flow to deliver complete design closure with better timing, smaller area, lower power, higher yields and faster turnaround time (1) In batch processing, the time it takes to receive finished reports after submission of documents or files for processing. In an online environment, turnaround time is the same as response time. than conventional point-tool flows. About Magma Magma's software for integrated circuit (IC) design is recognized as embodying the best in semiconductor technology. The world's top chip companies use Magma's electronic design automation (EDA (1) (Electronic Design Automation) Using the computer to design, lay out, verify and simulate the performance of electronic circuits on a chip or printed circuit board. ) software to design and verify complex, high-performance ICs for communications, computing, consumer electronics and networking applications, while at the same time reducing design time and costs. Magma provides software for IC implementation, analysis, physical verification Physical verification A procedure auditors use to ensure that inventory recorded in the book is correct by actually checking out the physical inventory. , characterization and programmable logic design, and its integrated RTL-to-GDSII design flow offers "The Fastest Path from RTL to Silicon"(TM). Magma is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with offices around the world. Magma's stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol Ticker Symbol An arrangement of characters (usually letters) representing a particular security listed on an exchange or otherwise traded publicly. When a company issues securities to the public marketplace, it selects an available ticker symbol for its securities which investors LAVA. Visit Magma Design Automation Magma Design Automation (NASDAQ: LAVA) is a software company in the electronic design automation (EDA) industry. The company was founded in 1997 and maintains headquarters in San Jose, California. on the Web at www.magma-da.com. About AltaSens AltaSens, Inc. is the premier supplier of high performance CMOS image sensors for the emerging world of high definition video. Headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks, commonly referred to as "T.O." by residents, is a city in southeastern Ventura County, California, in the United States. It was named after the many oak trees that grace the area, and the city seal is adorned with an oak. , AltaSens ProCamHD(TM) image sensors are used worldwide in a diverse range of imaging applications. AltaSens' high definition system-on-chip CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. video image sensors exceed industry expectations by delivering a cost-effective product that simultaneously delivers lower noise, lower power consumption, higher sensitivity, higher frame rate, and higher dynamic range. For more information about AltaSens, Inc. and ProCamHD(TM) image sensors, visit www.AltaSens.com. Magma and Blast Fusion are registered trademarks, and Blast Create and "The Fastest Path from RTL to Silicon" are trademarks of Magma Design Automation. All other product and company names are trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective companies. Forward-Looking Statements: Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements that Magma software reduces area and improves chip performance and about the features and benefits of Magma software are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. " provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including, but not limited to Magma's ability to keep pace with rapidly changing technology, its products' abilities to produce desired results and AltaSens' decision to continue using the software. Further discussion of these and other potential risk factors may be found in Magma's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov). Magma undertakes no additional obligation to update these forward-looking statements. |
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