Apache's Full-chip Dynamic Physical Power Integrity Solution Adopted by STMicroelectronics; RedHawk Provides Accurate Verification of Low Power and Leakage Control Designs.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Apache Design Solutions, the technology leader in physical power integrity solutions for system-on-chip (SoC) designs, today announced that STMicroelectronics has adopted Apache's SoC power closure sign-off flow for immediate use on ST's Nomadik(TM) low-power application processor designs. After an extensive evaluation, ST selected RedHawk for its extremely fast ability to verify the dynamic behavior of their advanced low power designs migrating to 90nm and 65nm process nodes.

"As we use new design techniques to address the challenges of leakage current and rigid power requirements, we needed an accurate method for verifying the chips' power, timing and functionality," said Alain Artieri R&D director for Nomadik Multimedia Platforms at STMicroelectronics. "Apache's silicon proven dynamic power integrity solution offers the most accurate verification for our advanced low power design techniques, including power-gating."

For designs at 90nm and below, static IR-drop analysis is no longer sufficient to meet ST's needs. RedHawk's ability to perform full-chip transient verification of the power/ground network to identify the dynamic impact on timing and yield was critical for many of their upcoming designs. In addition, for low-power applications, RedHawk provides the unique ability to accurately model the ramp-up behavior of the header/footer switches used in power-gating.

"We are seeing an increasing number of customers experience chip failures and low yield as power becomes one of the most important design issues for sub-130nm designs," said Andrew Yang, CEO of Apache. "Having leading semiconductor companies such as STMicroelectronics adopt our power integrity flow demonstrates how our solution is addressing the critical power closure requirements for advanced nanometer designs."

About RedHawk

RedHawk is a full-chip Vectorless Dynamic(TM) physical power integrity solution for SoC power closure sign-off of 130nm, 90nm, and 65nm designs. Certified by TSMC's 5.0 Reference Flow and correlated with silicon measurements and SPICE, RedHawk addresses dynamic power issues such as simultaneous switching output (SSO) for core, memory, clock, and I/O, as well as effects of on-chip inductance, package RLC, and decoupling capacitance.

RedHawk enables designers to identify dynamic "hot spots," examine the impact on timing, accurately pinpoint the cause of dynamic voltage drop, and automatically repair the source of supply noise. With RedHawk's integrated transistor-level characterization and unsurpassed capacity, designers can effectively reach power closure sign-off for high performance SoCs, including those utilizing advanced low-power design techniques such as leakage current control, power-gating, multiple voltage domains, and multiple threshold transistors.

About Apache Design Solutions

Apache is a provider of innovative next-generation physical power integrity software that accelerates the design process and guarantees the reliability of high performance system-on-a-chip designs. By providing tools for power, timing, and system I/O integrity, Apache enables leading networking, wireless, communication, consumer, and semiconductor companies to develop highly competitive and reliable products. With minimal setup, Apache's physical design integrity products are used early in the design process for 130 nanometer designs and below, delivering the highest standards of computational performance, capacity handling, and integrity. For more information, including a white paper on dynamic analysis, visit www.apache-da.com.

Apache Design Solutions, NSPICE, RedHawk-SDL, RedHawk-EV, SkyHawk, and Vectorless Dynamic are trademarks of Apache Design Solutions, Inc.

Nomadik is trademark of STMicroelectronics.