IC design tool provides circuit-driven verification — Mentor Graphics

IC design tool provides circuit-driven verification — Mentor Graphics

The tools for IC design are incredibly important to our industry. These complex tools are ever changing and difficult to get your hands around. We do not often give awards in this area, but we feel Calibre PERC from Mentor Graphics can be a significant advancement.

PERC stands for Programmable Electrical Rule Checker. Calibre PERC allows customized electrical rules checking (ERC) at the schematic level and also geometrical and electrical checks at layout, giving more flexibility and often greatly reducing time required for checking by finding problems earlier. It allows the chip designer to find a certain circuit configuration and, based on the presence of that, make specific geometry and parasitic checks on only those circuits. Most verification tools are “all or nothing.” PERC provides circuit-driven verification.

Two areas where PERC shines are finding electrostatic discharge layout problems and checking multiple power domains — top current issues in verification. These advanced requirements can only be described by a topological view rather than single device/pin to net relation. A topological view incorporates many layout-related parameters as well as circuitry-dependant checks. PERC can fulfill these complex verification requirements. Calibre PERC starts at about $250,000, and is doubtless worth every penny.

Mentor Graphics , Wilsonville , OR
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http://www.mentor.com