VIA adopts Avant! Star-SimXT for SoC design verification

VIA Technologies Inc., a developer of PC core logic chipsets, microprocessors, multimedia and communications chips, has selected Avant! Corp.'s Star-SimXT simulator for sign-off verification of its SoC designs.

According to Avant!, the Star-SimXT architecture provides virtually unlimited capacity and runtime that is faster than traditional high-capacity circuit simulators for larger circuits. Further, the Star-SimXT Active-Parasitics flow processes hierarchical circuit netlists with flat parasitic back annotation substantially faster than other commercial simulators. Star-Hspice device models are used by Star-SimXT.

Peter Lin, design manager of mixed-signal development at VIA explains that because of the complex mixed-signal custom blocks in VIA's 125MHz Ethernet network SoC design, they require a circuit simulator that provides fast turnaround-time and accuracy. He adds that Star-SimXT is the only transistor-level simulator that delivers fast simulation results with True-Hspice accuracy for block design sign-off.