WILSONVILLE, Ore. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — October 24, 2012 — Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) today announced the release of a major new product in the HyperLynx® suite, the market-leading, high-speed analysis product line. The HyperLynx DRC product efficiently performs best practice design rule checking (DRC) on printed circuit board (PCB) layout databases. Driven by customizable rules, the HyperLynx DRC product can be executed by engineers and designers during the PCB layout process to quickly highlight potential high-speed design issues pertaining to signal integrity, power integrity, and electromagnetic interference (EMI), without running detailed, time-consuming analysis. Not only will their designs be of improved quality, but correcting problems earlier in the design process can avoid re-design and shorten time-to-market.

One example: Sony Mobile, based in Lund, Sweden, is faced with very compressed engineering schedules to reach time-to-market windows in the mobile phone market. To ensure design quality, Sony Mobile performs design reviews to identify electrical issues related to signal integrity, EMC, and power integrity prior to building a board; however, these review meetings can be very time consuming. “By using HyperLynx DRC we get a structured approach where all nets are equally checked by the tool. We can then focus the review meeting on the critical nets where the tool finds the violations,” stated Anders Olsson, senior manager, Lund Development–Electronics System Design at Sony Mobile. “Valuable time can thus be spent on problem solving instead of problem finding. This makes us more efficient in our design process, extending our review coverage, and ensures higher design quality for our customers.”

The new HyperLynx DRC product comes with a standard set of coded rules targeted at PCB layout practices that have the potential to cause issues common in high-speed design. These standard rules are parametrically driven so users can customize them to meet specific best practices of their company. Samples of such issues include the following:

• Electromagnetic interference (EMI) examples:
  • Traces crossing plane splits, reference plane changes, nets near board edges, coupling to I/O nets
• Signal integrity (SI) examples:
  • Long interconnects, termination checks, impedance variations, crosstalk coupling
• Power distribution network examples:
  • Power net width, decoupling cap proximity

Unlike other DRC products currently on the market, the HyperLynx DRC tool is specifically designed to allow customers to create their own best-practice rules using VBScript and/or Javascript. This gives electronics companies the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage by implementing their intellectual property into the design process in an automated fashion.

“Sometimes simulation is not the optimum approach to look for problems, and HyperLynx DRC is targeted exactly for those situations,” stated Dave Kohlmeier, director of analysis products, Systems Design Division, Mentor Graphics. “Our HyperLynx family of products addresses the needs of PCB designers at any stage of development, unmatched by any other toolset on the market today, with the flexibility, ease of use, and immediate, accurate analysis needed for today’s design complexity.”

HyperLynx DRC is interfaced with all major PCB layout tools, including Mentor’s Expedition® Enterprise, Board Station® and PADS®, Cadence Allegro and Zuken CR.

Product Availability and Additional Information

The HyperLynx DRC product is available now. For more information, be sure to see a webinar on the new HyperLynx DRC technology on Thursday, November 1, 2012, and visit the product website.

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world’s most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of about $1,015 million. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com/.

(Mentor Graphics, HyperLynx, Expedition, Board Station and PADS are registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.)

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