Si2 renews push for adoption of OLA

Silicon Integration Initiative Inc. (Si2) will try to proliferate the adoption of its Open Library Architecture (OLA) standard this month when it announces that several EDA companies have committed to back its efforts.

OLA is a technology-specific engine that calculates IC delay via an application-programming interface that EDA tools use to determine such circuit and interconnect characteristics as delay and power. It is an alternative to Synopsys Inc.'s proprietary but widely used Liberty format, which Synopsys offers through open source licensing.

Si2, which is guided by the ASIC Council (members include IBM, Agere, LSI Logic, Philips, Fujitsu, Toshiba and STMicroelectronics), said Cadence Design Systems Inc., Monterey Design Systems Inc., Avanti Corp., Magma Design Automation Inc. and Sequence Design Inc. are among the EDA companies that support the OLA API or are in the process of adopting it into their tool chains.

The EDA companies have joined the alliance at the bequest of the ASIC Council member companies, which will work with the EDA vendors to develop OLA-based design kits that the EDA houses will include in their key tools.

ASIC Council members also plan to endorse static timing sign-off for the EDA products to customers as the design kits come online.

Michael Santarini

EE Times