Speed ASIC-block simulations with hardware assistance

-- EDN, 4/13/2000

To speed simulations of ASIC modules or complete chip designs having several million gates, Quickturn has introduced the Radium accelerator unit. For use at the workgroup level, Radium is the third hardware unit in the Quickturn product line. Another hardware platform, Cobalt, is Quickturn's "enterprise" (companywide-level) unit for simulation acceleration or in-circuit emulation of virtual prototypes. Another unit, Mercury, is a stand-alone unit for use as an in-circuit emulator at project level.

The processor-based Radium is 30 to 200 times faster than software simulators and achieves 500 to 5000 clock cycles per real-time second, according to the company. Compilation times are 12 million gates per hour on a single workstation. The PowerSuite software package links the three hardware platforms. The software lets you halt, debug, restore, and restart a running simulation at any point. Prices for Radium start at approximately $300,000.

Quickturn, www.quickturn.com.

-by Graham Prophet