SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 25, 2011 — (PRNewswire) — Solido Design Automation, the leader in variation-aware custom IC design, and STARC, the Japanese semiconductor technology research consortium, today announced that STARC has qualified and selected Solido Variation Designer for its STARCAD-AMS Analog/Mixed-Signal Reference Flow.

STARC is comprised of 9 electronics companies, five of whom participate in analog and mixed-signal (AMS) design.  STARC's AMS reference flow will support advanced custom IC design and is targeted to reduce overall turn-around time by 50 percent. One of STARC's tasks is to validate and support this best-in-class, integrated design flow for its client companies. The selection criteria STARC used to qualify Solido for its differential operational amplifier reference design were:

1. Meet design performance specifications across PVT corner and local mismatch conditions
2. Total setup and operation time not to exceed 12 hours
3. Meet MOS, resistor and capacitor area requirements

Solido's results:

1. Exceeded design performance specifications across PVT corner and local mismatch conditions
2. Further improved total setup and operation times by 40%
3. Further improved area targets by up to 9%

"We are pleased to add Solido Design to our analog/mixed-signal reference flow," said Kunihiko Tsuboi, Senior Manager of STARC's Mixed Signal Design Group. "In addition to making our reference design robust for variation while exceeding our design performance specifications and improving our area specifications, Solido further improved our aggressive setup and runtime criteria by an additional 40 percent. This evaluation process is representative of the thorough testing for technology excellence that STARC provides for its client companies."

"We are pleased that STARC has selected Solido Variation Designer as a core technology for its analog/mixed-signal reference flow," said Amit Gupta, President and CEO of Solido Design. "A recent independent survey showed designers calling for variation design to be integrated into custom IC schematic, simulation and layout technologies. STARC provides a tremendous service by validating these important design flow integrations through its AMS reference flow."

About Solido Design Automation

Solido Design Automation, Inc. is a leading provider of variation-aware custom integrated circuit design software. Solido Variation Designer and application packages are used by custom IC designers spanning analog/RF, I/O, memory and standard cell digital library design teams, to improve design performance, parametric yield, and designer productivity. The privately held company is venture capital funded and has offices in the U.S.A., Canada, Japan and Europe. For further information, visit www.solidodesign.com.  

About STARC

Semiconductor Technology Academic Research Center (STARC) is a research consortium co-founded by major Japanese semiconductor companies in December 1995. STARC's mission is to contribute the growth of the Japanese semiconductor industry by developing leading-edge SoC design technologies. For more information please visit www.starc.jp/index-e.html.

SOURCE Solido Design Automation, Inc.