Welcome to Wireless Chip Designer – the only newsletter that covers the challenges of integrating analog design, analog mixed signal and RF-Wireless functionality into silicon.

Please see below for address-change or subscribe/unsubscribe instructions.

This Month's Table of Contents:

1. Viewpoint Exclusive – Effects of EDA Evolution on RFIC Design
2. FPGA Market To Top $2.75 Billion By Decade's End
3. Integrated Modeling Environment Enhances A/MS Design Productivity
4. Collaboration Addresses Millimeter-Wave Applications
5. Verification Platform Ensures Analog Sign-Off
6. MMIC PDK Now Available For The Microwave Office Design Suite
7. Fujitsu and Lattice To Market Lattice FPGA/PLD Products In Japan
8. Technology Supports VHDL And Mixed Verilog/VHDL Languages
9. In-Depth Coverage Links
• Analog-RF IP Integration Challenges SoC Designers
• The Changing Face Of Re-Usable IP
10. New Books
11. Happenings -- Conferences

 Sponsors:
   >> Platinum Sponsor: Cadence
   >> Gold Sponsor: Cadence
   >> Silver Sponsor: SafeNet

The latest technology and flow demos at a location near you.
» Cadence Technology on Tour

1. Viewpoint - Exclusive

Effects of EDA Evolution on RFIC Design
by David Witkowski, Vertical Markets Business Development Manager for Wireless & RF at Cadence Design Systems (www.cadence.com)

I had an interesting chat at the recent IEEE Microwave Theory & Techniques Symposium with the editor of a Taiwanese technology magazine. It was her first visit to MTT-S and she commented to me that it seemed like there was a strong military influence on the show. To anyone who's been involved in MTT over the years, this statement would seem almost preposterous, given how much of the show today is non-military. And yet, clearly the innovation and technological achievement occurring in today's wireless industry has been fed by the energy that was unleashed during the demilitarization of the early 1990s and the subsequent shrinking of the defense contracting industry.. » Full Story

- Intelligently manage parasitic extraction
- Link system-level design with IC implementation
- Accurately and rapidly verify complete wireless designs
» Learn more

2. News

FPGA Market To Top $2.75 Billion By Decade's End

According to research conducted as part of In-Stat's Semiconductor Logic Markets service, the Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) market, with a quickly expanding array of uses, is on a roll. It is predicting that the value of worldwide FPGA shipments will increase from $1.9 billion in 2005 to $2.75 billion by 2010. Much of this revenue will come from low volume shipments. The largest two end-use segments will be communications (both wired and wireless) and industrial, whose combined market share of the FPGA market will increase from 73.8% in 2005, to 76.8% by 2010.
In-Stat » http://www.in-stat.com

3. News

Integrated Modeling Environment Enhances A/MS Design Productivity

Lynguent has announced its first product - the ModLyng Integrated Modeling Environment. As a tool for analog/mixed-signal (AMS) IC design, it incorporates an easy-to-use graphical user interface, is language- and platform-independent, and removes significant barriers to the re-use of models. Consequently, it helps semiconductor and systems companies save weeks in development time, which can improve a company's bottom-line by hundreds of thousands of dollars per design project. Using Lynguent's new ModLyng environment, engineers can create, maintain, debug, and translate their AMS models faster than ever before. And, they can re-use the models in other designs, across a number of target HDLs. Alternatively, engineers can create new models with ModLyng, which is especially important in developing behavioral model blocks for speeding design simulation and validation. The models may be exported to the same language in which it was written or automatically translated to another language. ModLyng also features unique analysis and debug capabilities.
Lynguent » http://www.lynguent.com

4. News

Collaboration Addresses Millimeter-Wave Applications

United Monolithic Semiconductors (UMS) and Ansoft Corporation have announced the implementation of a GaAs IC design methodology for millimeter-wave frequencies that utilizes on-chip electromagnetic extraction and a new Ansoft Designer/Nexxim RF design kit for the PH15 PHEMT process. This millimeter-wave qualified kit implements rigorous device modeling and validation by the foundry and is combined with advanced frequency-domain simulation for highly nonlinear and highly integrated circuits as well as integrated electromagnetic simulation for on-chip extraction. The Ansoft Designer/Nexxim design kit supports electrical design and physical circuit layout, enabling reliable MMIC design at millimeter-wave frequencies. The kit provides all parameterized electrical models and layout cells for hot and cold FETs, diodes, MIM capacitors, spiral inductors, thin-film resistors and distributed interconnects, such as transmission lines. The library will be available to Ansoft customers directly from UMS (www.ums-gaas.com) and is easily configured for use within the Ansoft Designer design management front-end, planar EM simulator and Nexxim circuit simulator.
Ansoft » www.ansoft.com
United Monolithic Semiconductors » http://www.ums-gaas.com

5. News

Verification Platform Ensures Analog Sign-Off

A new version of the Opal test bench platform from Knowlent Corporation, Version 4.0, enables the validation of high-speed interfaces used in SoC designs implemented in the latest nanometer silicon technologies. Highlights of this new release include a new VIPer test extension language, over 2X better performance of the binary test database, and integration with the industry leading analog design environment. The Opal platform ensures 100% compliance of chip interfaces to their electrical specifications delivering analog signoff for that portion of an SoC design. The increased flexibility, performance and accuracy of this new release enables customers to better achieve analog signoff and first-time product success. Knowlent is also announcing the availability of electrical verification IP (EVP) for the PCI Express Gen 2 interface standard. This new EVP enables testing of PCIe Gen2 interfaces when using the Knowlent Opal verification platform.
Knowlent Corporation » http://www.knowlent.com

6. News

MMIC PDK Now Available For The Microwave Office Design Suite

Applied Wave Research now offers a process design kit (PDK) that supports Cree's high-power silicon carbide (SiC) process. The kit enables monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) designers to use Cree's MMIC process within AWR's Microwave Office software environment. Designers can now improve productivity by applying AWR's industry-leading, open, and integrated design platform to Cree's wide bandgap SiC MMIC foundry services and discrete products.
Applied Wave Research » http://www.appwave.com
Cree » http://www.cree.com

Intel is hiring! Take a look here for more details....

7. International News

Fujitsu and Lattice To Market Lattice FPGA/PLD Products In Japan

Fujitsu Limited and Lattice Semiconductor Corporation have signed a distribution agreement in which Fujitsu Devices Inc. will be added as an authorized distributor of Lattice's FPGA/PLD products in Japan. Fujitsu has been manufacturing Lattice FPGA products under contract since March 2004. Under the new distribution agreement, Fujitsu and Lattice will further strengthen their partnership to include both manufacturing and sales. The agreement encompasses all Lattice products, including FPGAs manufactured using 90nm CMOS technology at the 300mm wafer line at Fujitsu's Mie fab, as well as all other existing products. In addition to incorporating these Lattice products into Fujitsu products, Fujitsu will also promote the sale of Lattice products to specific customers through Fujitsu Devices Incorporated.
Lattice Semiconductor K.K » http://www.latticesemi.com
Fujitsu Limited » http://www.fujitsu.com

8. International News

Technology Supports VHDL And Mixed Verilog/VHDL Languages

The VTOC core modeling technology from UK-based Tenison Design Automation now supports the VHDL and mixed Verilog/VHDL languages. VTOC gives design teams comprehensive coverage, speed, and accuracy for easily moving designs from RTL into high speed models for system level design. The extension to support designs in VHDL and mixed Verilog/ VHDL means that regardless of the original HDL, designs can be easily converted to high-performance models which can be integrated at the cycle callable or bus transactional levels. Designers not only gain an automated path to higher levels of abstraction and faster models in C++ and SytemC, they also gain a homogenized design in a common language for simpler debugging and ease of interfacing, as well as reuse with software and new system level designs.
Tenison Design Automation » http://www.tenison.com

9. In-Depth Coverage Links

As market forces continue to push more analog and RF functionality into digital SoCs, designers face a host of development issues. To learn more, read: "Analog-RF IP Integration Challenges SoC Designers." Chip Design Editorial Feature »
http://www.chipdesignmag.com/display.php?articleId=435&issueId=16

If complexity and gate count are approximately correlated, then IP is becoming about 5 times more complex every 3 years. To learn more, read: "The Changing Face Of Re-Usable IP." iDesign Editorial Feature »
http://www.chipdesignmag.com/display.php?articleId=407

10. New Books

Synthesis of Arithmetic Circuits: FPGA, ASIC and Embedded Systems
By Jean-Pierre Deschamps, Gery J.A. Bioul and Gustavo D. Sutter
ISBN: 0-471-68783-9
Publisher: Wiley-IEEE Press

In Synthesis of Arithmetic Circuits: FPGA, ASIC and Embedded Systems, the authors take a novel approach of presenting methods and examples for the synthesis of arithmetic circuits that better reflects the needs of today's computer system designers and engineers. Unlike other publications that limit discussion to arithmetic units for general-purpose computers, this text features a practical focus on embedded systems.
Wiley-IEEE Press » http://www.wiley.com/

Rapid System Prototyping With FPGAs
By RC Cofer and Benjamin Harding
ISBN: 0-7506-7866-6
Imprint: NEWNES

The push to move products to market as quickly and cheaply as possible is fiercer than ever, and accordingly, engineers are always looking for new ways to provide their companies with the edge over the competition. Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), which are faster, denser, and more cost-effective than traditional programmable logic devices (PLDs), are quickly becoming one of the most widespread tools that embedded engineers can utilize in order to gain that needed edge. FPGAs are especially popular for prototyping designs, due to their superior speed and efficiency. This book hones in on that rapid prototyping aspect of FPGA use, showing designers exactly how they can cut time off production cycles and save their companies money drained by costly mistakes, via prototyping designs with FPGAs first.
Elsevier » http://www.elsevier.com/

11. Happenings - Conferences

Semicon West
July 10-14, 2006
Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA
http://wps2a.semi.org/wps/portal/

Design Automation Conference
July 24-28, 2006
Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA
http://www.dac.com/43rd/

HOT Chips 18
August 20-22, 2006
Stanford University, CA
www.hotchips.org

ARM Developers' Conference
October 3-5, 2006
Santa Clara, CA
www.arm.com/developersconference/

GSPx Conference and Expo
October 30 - November 2, 2006
Santa Clara, CA
www.gspx.com/index.php

Electronica
November 14-16, 2006
Munich, Germany
www.global-electronics.net

WIRELESS CHIP DESIGNER e-NEWSLETTER CONTACTS

Editor: Cheryl Ajluni, cajluni@extensionmedia.com

Editorial Director: John Blyler, jblyler@extensionmedia.com

Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities: Karen Popp, kpopp@extensionmedia.com

Read past issues of Chip Designer, FPGA Developer and Wireless Chip Designer : www.chipdesignmag.com/enewsletters

To subscribe, or change your profile, visit:
www.chipdesignmag.com/subscribe

To unsubscribe, email:
tneblett@extensionmedia.com

Visit Chip Design:
www.chipdesignmag.com