News and New Products

Suite targets physical-design exploration

By Gabe Moretti -- EDN, 9/25/2003

Icinergy Software has released Version 4.0 of its presynthesis physical-design-exploration products. The family comprises SoC Preview, SoC Plan, and SoC Prototype.The SoC Preview desktop tool allows ASIC vendors to conduct die-size estimation, power planning, and part quoting during initial meetings with customers. The product includes a die-size estimator that uses a minimal set of design information; the ability to view rectilinear blocks; and a library browser that allows you to classify, select, and integrate IP (intellectual-property) blocks through a drag-and-drop interface. The price for the tool is $9500.

SoC Plan contains all of the functions of SoC Preview and also supports design planning and entry in Verilog or VHDL for physical-architectural-level planning, and for IP evaluation, selection, and integration. The tool includes automatic and interactive floorplanning, I/O placement, interconnect planning, and port definition. The price is $20,000.

SoC Prototype adds timing-driven block placement and automatic synthesis-constraint generation to the capabilities of SoC Plan. In the new version, Icinergy has enhanced the timing-budgeting algorithm that allows designers to extract path information from the tool’s virtual router to create synthesis constraints that reflect delay through the trial routes. Price is $35,000.

Icinergy, 1-613-271-6257, www.icinergy.com.