editor's blog
Subscribe Now

End-to-End Signal Analysis

When two chips talk to each other, they do so over a convoluted path that involves signals leaving a driver, going to a pad, up through a wire and other package interconnect, up and down and around along a board trace, and back into and through a package to another pad, finally arriving at the desired input. All along the way they brush up against other signals that may also be switching very quickly. Meanwhile, the power driving the output and input circuits may experience noise (and, in fact, that noise may be different on each chip). When you’ve got a lot of these signals that need to arrive with picosecond precision, such as is required with standards like the latest DDR versions, every part of the path matters.

Sigrity says that the traditional method of doing I/O analysis, using the IBIS models from the two chips, is no longer sufficient, especially when considering power noise and effects such as simultaneous switching noise (SSN). So they’ve just released SystemSI, which analyzes the entire path as a single entity, concurrently considering power noise and SSN as well as inter-symbol interference, crosstalk, reflections, and losses in both the conductors and dielectric. There’s a version for parallel busses and one for serial busses. They claim that it’s the first solution of its kind.

Sigrity uses what they call a “hybrid solver” approach involving both electromagnetic (EM, using both finite element – FE – and method of moment – MOM – approaches) and circuit simulation techniques. Says Leslie Landers, VP of Sales and Marketing, “For example, the hybrid solver assesses planes with FEM and transmission lines with MOM. This EM information is combined with circuit simulation. The benefit of the hybrid approach is in the ability to deliver both accuracy and efficient simulation run times that make it possible to evaluate entire structures (for example, large boards).”

More details in their release

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Dec 19, 2024
Explore Concurrent Multiprotocol and examine the distinctions between CMP single channel, CMP with concurrent listening, and CMP with BLE Dynamic Multiprotocol....
Dec 20, 2024
Do you think the proton is formed from three quarks? Think again. It may be made from five, two of which are heavier than the proton itself!...

Libby's Lab

Libby's Lab - Scopes Out Littelfuse's SRP1 Solid State Relays

Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Littelfuse

In this episode of Libby's Lab, Libby and Demo investigate quiet, reliable SRP1 solid state relays from Littelfuse availavble on Mouser.com. These multi-purpose relays give engineers a reliable, high-endurance alternative to mechanical relays that provide silent operation and superior uptime.

Click here for more information about Littelfuse SRP1 High-Endurance Solid-State Relays

featured chalk talk

Vector Funnel Methodology for Power Analysis from Emulation to RTL to Signoff
Sponsored by Synopsys
The shift left methodology can help lower power throughout the electronic design cycle. In this episode of Chalk Talk, William Ruby from Synopsys and Amelia Dalton explore the biggest energy efficiency design challenges facing engineers today, how Synopsys can help solve a variety of energy efficiency design challenges and how the shift left methodology can enable consistent power efficiency and power reduction.
Jul 29, 2024
107,789 views