Advancing Semiconductor Technology Together
Siemens has earned a slew of recent certifications for its integrated circuit (IC) design and verification technologies. Samsung Electronics’ Foundry PDK Development Team, led by Sungjae Lee, is simultaneously optimizing design workflows and driving innovation to meet the industry’s needs in sectors like 5G, automotive, and AI.
Through the partnership, Siemens’ Xpedition Substrate Integrator and Package Designer software has been updated with Samsung’s latest Process Design Kits (PDKs), enhancing digital twin modeling of complex multi-die devices. This enables more efficient design, analysis, and signoff activities downstream.
Cutting-Edge Packaging Certification
Samsung has successfully evaluated Siemens’ Calibre xACT 3D and xL tools for parasitic extraction in High Density Advanced Packaging (HDPA), essential for managing complex 2.5D and 3D package configurations. These tools, now validated for advanced process nodes, efficiently capture the intricacies of high bandwidth memory (HBM) channels, including through silicon vias (TSV) analyses.
Comprehensive Design Solutions
Other notable accomplishments include the Calibre nmPlatform’s full certification for Samsung Foundry’s advanced process technologies. Leveraging AI, Siemens’ Solido software suite enhances custom IC verification. Additionally, the Analog FastSPice platform has been qualified for Samsung’s cutting-edge fabrication processes, ensuring SPICE accuracy.
The collaboration has also fortified open model interface (OMI) development, backed by Siemens’ platforms, enabling decisive ageing and reliability assessments across process nodes from 14nm to 2nm.
Aprisa Certification and Design Enhancement
Samsung has certified Siemens’ Aprisa software, paving the way for digital implementation in Samsung’s SF3P process node. This delivers robust design implementation solutions, accelerating power structure optimization, and cutting design cycle times. Siemens’ Calibre DesignEnhancer excels at layout optimization, driving DRC clean results and inserting vias and parallel interconnects to achieve EMIR targets proficiently.
Revolutionary IC Testing Methodologies
A new design methodology reference flow from Siemens ensures exceptional quality testing and precise diagnosis for Samsung’s advanced nodes, integrating defect-based Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG) through Tessent software suites. This addresses the zero DPPM goal and diagnosing complex cell and interconnect defects.
Siemens Digital Industries Software’s CEO, Mike Ellow, emphasized the importance of strategic partnerships in delivering IC design and production solutions that meet customer demands for performance, power, and area efficiency. The combined efforts of Siemens and Samsung Foundry empower customers to stay competitive in the global market with these collaborative technological advancements.
Advancing Semiconductor Technology Together
Siemens has earned multiple recent certifications for its integrated circuit (IC) design and verification technologies. This achievement is a testimony to the effective collaboration between Siemens and Samsung, aimed at enhancing capabilities in critical industries such as 5G, automotive, and AI. Sharing Samsung’s latest Process Design Kits (PDKs) with Siemens ensures that digital twin modeling of complex multi-die devices accommodates the most recent manufacturing process variability and constraints.
Key Questions and Answers:
– What is the significance of the Siemens and Samsung collaboration?
The partnership is significant as it brings together Siemens’ software capabilities with Samsung’s advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes, providing enhanced IC design solutions that address the complexities of modern electronics and help shape the next wave of technological advancements.
– How do the certifications benefit the semiconductor industry?
The certifications enable designers to utilize Siemens tools that are verified to work effectively with Samsung’s technologies, ensuring compatibility and streamlining design processes. This enhances the reliability of the design and speed to market, which is crucial in sectors like high-speed telecommunications, automotive safety systems, and sophisticated AI computing.
Key Challenges or Controversies:
– One of the challenges in advanced IC design is managing the complexity of multi-die integration and ensuring that simulation tools accurately reflect real-world manufacturing conditions. Certifications such as these validate the effectiveness of design tools in meeting these complexities.
– Another potential challenge is keeping the design tools up-to-date with rapid advancements in semiconductor manufacturing processes, such as evolving design rules for cutting-edge nodes and new materials.
– There may be ongoing debates over proprietary versus open standards in software-tool chains and whether industry collaborations sufficiently address concerns about interoperability and data exchange among multiple EDA vendors.
Advantages:
– The enhanced collaboration can drive innovation more rapidly due to the shared expertise and resources.
– Design tools verified for compatibility with advanced processes allow for more accurate modeling, reducing the risk of errors and post-fabrication tweaks.
– Certifications give clients confidence that the tools they use are up to the task of designing state-of-the-art semiconductor devices.
Disadvantages:
– There might be a steep learning curve for engineers and designers when adopting new tools integrated with complex PDKs.
– Such collaborations could potentially reduce diversity in tool offerings if they lead to a consolidation of design tools around specific manufacturing platforms.
Related to the main topics discussed in the article, interested individuals and companies can explore further by visiting the websites of both Siemens and Samsung. Find more about Siemens’ digital industries software and services at Siemens Digital Industries Software. To learn more about Samsung’s foundry services and technologies, visit Samsung Foundry. These links have been provided with the assurance of their validity as of the knowledge cutoff date.