SAN JOSE, Calif., March 10, 2010 – Magma® Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq: LAVA), a provider of chip design software, today announced the availability of FineSim™ Fast Monte Carlo, a revolutionary new alternative to traditional Monte Carlo analysis. FineSim Fast Monte Carlo makes it possible to achieve much more accurate statistical analysis as much as 100 times faster than traditional Monte Carlo methods.
Most engineers today rely heavily on statistical methods such as traditional Monte Carlo analysis for design reliability, an approach that has limitations making accurate analysis almost impossible. FineSim Fast Monte Carlo uses proprietary dynamic error-controlled algorithms along with sophisticated statistical techniques to provide dramatic improvement in speed and accuracy compared to traditional Monte Carlo statistical analysis. It has shown as much as 100 times better runtime when compared to other commercial methods, with superior accuracy.
“As engineers continue to push their products into more advanced process technologies, the need for improved reliability becomes even more critical. But the increasing number of process parameters and parasitic variability make it virtually impossible to predict accurate statistical yield analysis, reliability and failure analysis,” said Anirudh Devgan, general manager of Magma’s Custom Design Business Unit. “FineSim Fast Monte Carlo was developed to address these issues with greater accuracy and predictability.”
The algorithms in FineSim Fast Monte Carlo, coupled with Magma’s native-parallel technology, improve throughput for statistical simulations even further. FineSim Fast Monte Carlo makes statistical analysis practical for many different applications. “Several key customers have tested FineSim Fast Monte Carlo option on their memory, custom digital, and mixed-signal designs, and they are very excited about its performance and accuracy of results,” Devgan said.
Designers can use FineSim Fast Monte Carlo to dramatically improve the speed of statistical analysis, enabling statistical analysis on designs that would previously have been infeasible. Fast Monte Carlo can also improve the accuracy of statistical analysis on a given number of statistical samples, providing users improved overall confidence in the analysis.
Availability
FineSim Fast Monte Carlo is available now for production use with FineSim SPICE and FineSim Pro for fast, accurate statistical circuit analysis.
About Magma
Magma’s electronic design automation (EDA) software provides the “Fastest Path to Silicon”™ and enables the world’s top chip companies to create high-performance integrated circuits (ICs) for cellular telephones, electronic games, WiFi, MP3 players, digital video, networking and other electronic applications. Magma products are used in IC implementation, analog/mixed-signal design, analysis, physical verification, circuit simulation and characterization. The company maintains headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and offices throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Asia and India. Magma’s stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Follow Magma on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/MagmaEDA and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/Magma. Visit Magma Design Automation on the Web at www.magma-da.com.
