What's New in Virtuoso

Virtuoso RF Solution

The new Virtuoso^® RF Solution provides a seamless RF design flow that integrates key design tools and technologies to implement, analyze, and simulate your RFIC and RF module all within the Virtuoso design environment. The solution automates hours of manual effort to run electromagnetic (EM) simulations, allowing you to run in-design experiments. It also simplifies the effort of running layout versus schematic (LVS) checks and design rule checks (DRCs) for complete physical design checks.

• Create RF module layouts by generating from the "golden" schematic and using built-in features inside Virtuoso environment for LVS and DRC clean layout
• Co-design their ICs and modules and avoid design failures that often arise from manual translation of data between numerous disjointed tools
• Run in-design experiments for critical passives and interconnects by utilizing the advanced interface to Sigrity^™ PowerSI^® 3D EM and National Instruments' AXIEM Electromagnetic solvers inside the Virtuoso environment

For more information, see Virtuoso RF Solution.

Expanded Virtuoso Platform Tackles System Design Challenges

Cadence elevated its Virtuoso custom IC design platform with major enhancements that improve electronic system and IC design productivity. The enhancements affect almost every Virtuoso product, providing a robust environment and ecosystem to design, implement, and analyze complex systems.

Virtuoso System Design Platform

Built upon our award-winning Virtuoso System Design Platform to provide a comprehensive solution across chip, package, module, and board design, the new Virtuoso platform integrates a wide range of tools, products, and solutions.

A novel system design environment with multi-technology support lets you seamlessly edit and analyze the most complex heterogeneous systems, including analog, mixed-signal, RF, and photonic products through a single platform, utilizing the full capabilities of trusted Virtuoso set of design applications.

• With new simultaneous editing across multiple processes design kits and technologies, the Virtuoso System Design Platform provides seamless interoperability with Cadence’s Allegro^® PCB technology, Allegro Package Designer, and Sigrity analysis technology portfolio for a comprehensive chip-to-board toolset.

For more information, see Virtuoso System Design Platform.

Virtuoso Advanced-Node Design and Layout Support

The new Virtuoso Platform incorporates innovative advanced-node process methodologies from 22nm down to 5nm. Through collaboration with leading-edge foundries, ecosystem partners, and customers, the new Virtuoso platform can automatically manage process complexities that enable engineers to focus on their design intent.

• In circuit design and analysis, advanced statistical algorithms specifically target FinFET designs and uncover circuit variances early, reducing the iterations required to fix loops by approximately 50%.
• In layout design, a unique multi-grid system abstracts complex design rules of the latest 7nm and 5nm processes, while allowing engineers to increase their use of placement and routing technologies to significantly increase layout design productivity. Using these techniques with the enhancements made to the advanced methodology reduces layout effort by >2.5X in 7nm production designs.

For more information, see Custom/Analog Advanced-Node Solution.

Virtuoso Advanced Design Methodologies and Automation

The new Virtuoso platform includes several enhancements to improve analog design and analysis. Cadence estimates that the new innovative layout environment with electrically driven routing and wire editing, real-time design editing, and revolutionary design planning techniques improves productivity by 50%.

Virtuoso Analog Design Environment (ADE)

• Enhanced integration with Spectre^® Circuit Simulator provides 3X improvement in simulation performance, increasing simulation throughput and using advanced analysis to reduce design iterations.
• New, unique capabilities added to Virtuoso ADE Verifier that centralize cross-domain electrical specifications provide a streamlined path to standards compliance (i.e., ISO 26262) by approximately 30%.

For more information, see Virtuoso ADE Product Suite.

Virtuoso Layout Suite

• Evolving from an electrically aware layout to the industry’s first electrically and simulation-driven layout using unique sets of in-design technologies ensures circuit integrity and performance. This new simulation-driven layout addresses many of the electromigration (EM) and parasitic challenges of critical circuits and advanced-node designs.
• Breakthrough techniques for hierarchical floorplanning and signal-path routing automation increase layout design productivity and throughput, and shorten layout turnaround-time.
• Innovative concurrent team design editing allowing teams to distribute layout tasks and perform what-if exploration, which is useful for design-rule check (DRC) fixing, chip finishing, and routing.

For more information, see Virtuoso Layout Suite.