Electronic Design Automation: February 1, 1996

Windows simulator targets CPLD and FPGA designs. OrCAD Simulate for Windows verifies logic and timing of CPLDs and FPGAs. OrCAD Simulate runs as a native 32-bit application under Windows NT, 3.1, and 95. The simulator provides vendor-specific on-line help and an on-line interactive-training tutorial. It verifies and debugs logic prior to routing and also detects and debugs timing violations after placement and routing. OrCAD Simulate for Windows costs $3495. OrCAD, Beaverton, OR. (503) 671-9500.

Windows-based layout package includes autorouter. MicroSim PCBoards layout software for Windows 3.1, NT, and 95 is available for use with Cooper & Chyan’s Specctra autorouter. The package features graphical-trace editing, full footprint and package editing, a library of over 950 footprints, forward and backward ECO, PADS netlist import, and Gerber photoplotter output. Prices for the layout software range from $1495 with a 2-layer, 11,000-pin autorouter, to $5625 with a 256-layer autorouter of unlimited pin count. MicroSim Corp, Irvine, CA. (714) 770-3022.

Tool kit links Spice with XTK. The Behavioral and Spice Integrated Link (BASIL) lets you combine XTK signal integrity software with the device modeling flexibility of a Spice simulator. Operating through the XTK API, BASIL eases the translation of Spice structural models to XTK behavioral device models. It models analog and digital devices not supported by XTK. Prices start at $15,000, depending on platform and configuration. Quad Design, Camarillo, CA. (805) 988-8250.

Software predicts radiated susceptibility. Radiated Immunity design software analyzes a product’s immunity to radiated electromagnetic fields and runs on PCs with Windows V3.1 or later. The program lets you experiment to determine the most effective noise mitigation techniques. Calculations take into account electromagnetic field characteristics, cabling design, wire routing, twisting, shielding, grounding, circuit impedances, circuit balance, and filtering. A single-user license costs $449. SpectraSoft, Redondo Beach. (800) 458-6021.

Utilities compare different simulator outputs. VCD TestBench utilities for the vendor’s 3 cycle-based simulator let you compare results from two different simulators or of two different implementations of the same design. Because the VCD TestBench option uses the industry-standard I/O format interchange from the Open Verilog International specification, it runs with a number of independent EDA tools to generate or operate specific data. The option is $5000. SpeedSim Inc, Westford, MA. (508) 692-3737.