TSMC uses SpringSoft's layout automation tool

By Anne-Francoise Pele
EDADesignLine.com

PARIS - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) announced it has licensed the Laker custom layout automation system from SpringSoft Inc. for mixed-signal, memory and I/O design applications.

"Our IC design teams are at the forefront of today's most demanding custom chip development and design enablement. To deal with the diversity and complexity of these designs, we are constantly evolving our highly tuned design environment with tools and methodologies such as the Laker layout system that help break down design barriers," commented Tom Quan, deputy director of design methodology and service marketing at TSMC.

SpringSoft (Hsinchu, Taiwan) claimed its Laker custom layout automation system is suitable for analog, mixed-signal, memory and custom digital IC design. It provides an intuitive methodology and controllable automation to accelerate and improve layout results.

Earlier this year, SpringSoft Inc. expanded its Laker custom IC design platform with the introduction of Laker Custom Row Placer and Laker Custom Digital Router.

SpringSoft noted that Laker Custom Row Placer uses proprietary automation techniques to achieve incremental selection and placement as well as internal iterations to pack the placement area. The Laker Custom Router, the company added, is a hybrid router with both gridded and shape-based routing technologies, the company claimed. It allows off-grid routing to reach off-grid pins, and uses shape-based routing to fix any design rule violations.

Laker Custom Row Placer and Laker Custom Digital Router are compatible with the Later Custom Layout Automation System and are compliant with the OpenAccess database.