Date: 08/10/2012

ST picks Agilent’s 3-D EM Simulation software for ESD development in 40-nm Ics

Agilent Technologies Inc. has announced that STMicroelectronics has selected Agilent's Electromagnetic Professional (EMPro) software for use in development of ESD structures based on advanced CMOS process technology.

As process geometries shrink to 40 nm and beyond, energy dissipation capacity from ESD (electrostatic discharge) protection devices is becoming more of a design challenge. ESD designs are process-technology-dependent, and lengthy simulations are normally necessary to systematically evaluate key ESD issues.

Therefore, accelerating the design flow is becoming critical for IC development and availability.

EMPro's Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) EM simulator monitors the high electrical fields generated by the electric discharge within innovative ESD structures. Running the FDTD simulation on graphical processing unit (GPU) cards accelerates simulation speeds by an order of around 10x.

"Because our customers require more speed and accuracy to tackle their coupled ESD and electromagnetic compatibility challenges, it is critical for us to elaborate and assess solutions that are optimized, reliable and developed in record time to enable their first-run silicon success," said Philippe Galy, expert ESD/Latch-Up teams manager, STMicroelectronics. "Meeting these needs is a major initiative for ST, and our collaboration with Agilent has led to successful achievements with solutions and tools that satisfy these objectives."

"We are delighted by STMicroelectronics' decision to adopt the EMPro platform for electromagnetic modeling and simulation of its ESD structures," said Todd Cutler, general manager of Agilent EEsof EDA. "We are continually working to advance the platform's usability and speed through introduction of new capabilities and innovations like the recent GPU acceleration enhancement to the FDTD simulator. It is gratifying to see a company like ST benefiting from the improved speed of the EMPro platform."

Agilent is to show EMPro at European Microwave Week (Booth 114), Oct. 29-Nov. 1, RAI, Amsterdam.

For more information about EEsof EDA Software: www.agilent.com/find/eesof

Source: Agilent
Author: Srinivasa Reddy N