Date: 26th Aug 2010

Alps employs Berkeley Design 's AFS platform for designing its mixed-signal ICs

Berkeley Design said Alps Electric is using Berkeley Design 's VLSI chip design software AFS Platform for complex-block characterization, device noise analysis, and mixed-signal verification of its complex mixed-signal ICs.

"At Alps Electric we have been using Analog FastSPICE for over a year for verification of our complex mixed-signal and sensor ICs and we consistently get 5x-10x faster results than traditional SPICE simulators with identical waveforms" said Keisho Miyazaki, Group Manager, IC Engineering Group, Alps Electric Co. Ltd. "We have now deployed the AFS Platform because it improves our designer efficiency and addresses our analog/RF verification needs, including complex- block characterization, device noise analysis, and mixed-signal verification -- all with true SPICE accuracy. In addition, the AFS Platform has demonstrated excellent performance with true SPICE accuracy on our sensor circuits and switched-capacitor circuits, which could not be run on other simulators. "

The Analog FastSPICE Platform is a circuit verification platform for analog, mixed-signal, and RF semiconductor chip design. Berkely claims that the AFS platform delivers SPICE accurate results, while providing 5x-20x higher performance than traditional SPICE, >10 million-element capacity, and device noise analysis. The AFS Platform is a single executable that uses algorithms and numerical analysis to rapidly solve the full-circuit matrix and original device equations without any shortcuts. It includes licenses for AFS Nano SPICE simulation, AFS circuit simulation, AFS Co-Simulation, AFS Transient Noise Analysis, and AFS RF Analysis.

"We are very pleased to further expand our relationship with Alps Electric, a leading global supplier of precision mixed-signal and RF electronic devices and sensors," said Ravi Subramanian, president and CEO of Berkeley Design Automation. "Alps Electric's decision to adopt the AFS Platform was based on their high return on investment with their initial adoption of the Analog FastSPICE simulator. We are proud to be recognized by Alps Electric as an essential partner as they strive for greater verification efficiency."