i want to read from text file two values  on two ports , i wrote  that  code, and i have that error that shown in the image below . and also the data in text file is shown as screenshot

module read_file (a,b);

electrical a,b;
integer in_file_0,data_value, valid, count0,int_value;

analog begin
@(initial_step) begin
in_file_0 = $fopen("/home/hh1667/ee610/my_library/read_file/data2.txt","r");

valid = $fscanf (in_file_0, "%b,%b" ,int_value,count0);
end

V(a) <+ int_value;
V(b) <+ count0;

end

endmodule

I am scripting gds streamin using 'strmin', which works fine so far.

But, as it apparently doesn't have an option to specify where the cds.lib file is, I have to run it from the directory where the cds.lib file is, or I guess I could create a dummy one to source that one.

Is there a way to tell strmin where the cds.lib file is?

We have a big circuit having 12K gates totally and trying to show it in one page slide visually. But it is so hard for us to shrink it down from gate-level to module-level. Do you have any function like these:

• Toggle wires on and off
• “Right click” elements and group them into black boxes
• Quickly left or right align elements to clean up pictures

Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere. Machine learning (ML) and its associated inference abilities promise to revolutionize everything from driving your car to making your breakfast. Verification is never truly complete; it is over when you run...(read more)

Learn how Xcelium PowerPlayback App enables the massively parallel Xcelium replay of waveforms for glitch-accurate power estimation of multi-billion gate SoC designs.(read more)

Xcelium Simulator has been in the industry for years and is the leading high-performance simulation platform. As designs are getting more and more complex and verification is taking longer than ever, the need of the hour is plug-and-play apps that ar...(read more)

Achieving optimal power transfer in RF PCBs hinges on meticulously routed traces that meet specific impedance requirements. Impedance matching is essential to ensure that traces have the same impedance to prevent signal reflection and inefficient pow...(read more)

OrCAD X is the next-generation integrated PCB design platform. It brings to you a powerful cloud-enabled design solution that includes design and library data management integrated with the proven PCB design and analysis product portfolio of Cad...(read more)

The OrCAD X and Allegro X 24.1 release is now available at Cadence Downloads. This blog post provides links to access the release and describes some major changes and new features.   OrCAD X /Allegro X 24.1 (SPB241) Here is a representative li...(read more)

Melika Roshandell, Cadence product marketing director for the Celsius Thermal Solver, recently published an article in Designing Electronics discussing how the use of modern thermal analysis techniques can help engineers meet the challenges of today’s complex electronic designs, which require ever more functionality and performance to meet consumer demand.

Today’s modern electronic designs require ever more functionality and performance to meet consumer demand. These requirements make scaling traditional, flat, 2D-ICs very challenging. With the recent introduction of 3D-ICs into the electronic design industry, IC vendors need to optimize the performance and cost of their devices while also taking advantage of the ability to combine heterogeneous technologies and nodes into a single package. While this greatly advances IC technology, 3D-IC design brings about its own unique challenges and complexities, a major one of which is thermal management.

To overcome thermal management issues, a thermal solution that can handle the complexity of the entire design efficiently and without any simplification is necessary. However, because of the nature of 3D-ICs, the typical point tool approach that dissects the design space into subsections cannot adequately address this need. This approach also creates a longer turnaround time, which can impact critical decision-making to optimize design performance. A more effective solution is to utilize a solver that not only can import the entire package, PCB, and chiplets but also offers high performance to run the entire analysis in a timely manner.

Celsius Thermal Management Solutions

Cadence offers the Celsius Thermal Solver, a unique technology integrated with both IC and package design tools such as the Cadence Innovus Implementation System, Allegro PCB Designer, and Voltus IC Power Integrity Solution. The Celsius Thermal Solver is the first complete electrothermal co-simulation solution for the full hierarchy of electronic systems from ICs to physical enclosures. Based on a production-proven, massively parallel architecture, the Celsius Thermal Solver also provides end-to-end capabilities for both in-design and signoff methodologies and delivers up to 10X faster performance than legacy solutions without sacrificing accuracy.

By combining finite element analysis (FEA) for solid structures with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for fluids (both liquid and gas, as well as airflow), designers can perform complete system analysis in a single tool. For PCB and IC packaging, engineering teams can combine electrical and thermal analysis and simulate the flow of both current and heat for a more accurate system-level thermal simulation than can be achieved using legacy tools. In addition, both static (steady-state) and dynamic (transient) electrical-thermal co-simulations can be performed based on the actual flow of electrical power in advanced 3D structures, providing visibility into real-world system behavior.

Designers are already co-simulating the Celsius Thermal Solver with Celsius EC Solver (formerly Future Facilities’ 6SigmaET electronics thermal simulation software), which provides state-of-the-art intelligence, automation, and accuracy. The combined workflow that ties Celsius FEA thermal analysis with Celsius EC Solver CFD results in even higher-accuracy models of electronics equipment, allowing engineers to test their designs through thermal simulations and mitigate thermal design risks.

Conclusion

As systems become more densely populated with heat-dissipating electronics, the operating temperatures of those devices impact reliability (device lifetime) and performance. Thermal analysis gives designers an understanding of device operating temperatures related to power dissipation, and that temperature information can be introduced into an electrothermal model to predict the impact on device performance. The robust capabilities in modern thermal management software enable new system analyses and design insights. This empowers electrical design teams to detect and mitigate thermal issues early in the design process—reducing electronic system development iterations and costs and shortening time to market.

To learn more about Cadence thermal analysis products, visit the Celsius Thermal Solver product page and download the Cadence Multiphysics Systems Analysis Product Portfolio.

Live Doc is an advanced automated PCB documentation generation tool integrated with OrCAD X Presto designed to streamline the creation of PCB documentation. By automating the generation of PCB fabrication and assembly drawings, Live Doc significantly...(read more)

Cadence is super excited to announce SPB 23.1 release —Your freedom to design boldly!  

These tools help engineers build better PCBs faster with the new 3D engine and optimized interface.  

We have been hard at work to bring you this release and believe that it will help you take control of the PCB design process with the powerful new features in Allegro X APD like: 

• Packaging Support in 3DX Canvas 

• 3DX Wire DRCs 

• Aligning Components by Offset 

• Text Wizard Enhancements 

• Device File Reuse for Existing Components for Netlist and Logic Import 

Watch this space to know all about What’s New in SPB 23.1.  

Regards 

Team PCBTech 

Cadence Design System 

For individuals, small businesses, or teams, START YOUR FREE TRIAL. 

Starting SPB 23.1, in Allegro X PCB Editor and Allegro X Advanced Package Designer, you can align components by using offset mode. Earlier only spacing mode was available.

Follow these steps to Align Components using Offset Mode:

1. Set Application Mode to Placement Edit.
2. Drag the components that need to be aligned and right-click and choose Align Components.
3. Now, in the Options tab, you will notice Spacing Section with Equal Offset. You can equally and individually offset the components by using the +/- buttons for increment or decrement.

Starting SPB 23.1, Allegro Package Designer Plus (APD+) has been rebranded as Allegro X Advanced Package Designer (Allegro X APD).

The splash screen for Allegro X APD will appear as shown below, instead of showing APD+ 2023:

For the Windows Start menu in 23.1, it will display as Allegro X APD 2023 instead of APD+ 2023, as shown below

23.1 Start menu 

In the Product Choices window for 23.1, you will see Allegro X Advanced Package Designer in the place of Allegro Package Designer +, as shown below: 

23.1 product title

Have you heard that starting SPB 23.1, Allegro Package Designer Plus (APD+) will be renamed as Allegro X Advanced Package Designer (Allegro X APD)? 

Allegro X APD offers multiple new features and enhancements on topics like Via Structures, Wirebond, Etchback, Text Wizards, 3D Canvas, and more. 

This post presents the new 3DX Canvas introduced in SPB 23.1. This can be invoked from Allegro X APD (from the menu item View > 3DX Canvas). 

Some of the key benefits of the new canvas: 

• This canvas addresses the scale and complexity in large modern package designs. It provides highly efficient visual representation and implementation of packages. 
  
• The new architecture enables high-performance 3D incremental updates by utilizing GPU for fast rendering. 
  
  
• Real-time 3D incremental updates are supported, which means that the 3D view is in sync with all changes to the database. 
  
  
• The new canvas provides 3D visualization support for packaging objects such as wire bonds, ball, die bump/pillar geometries, die stacks, etch back, and plating bar. 
  
  
• This release also introduces the interactive measurement tool for a 3D view of packages. Once you open 3DX Canvas, press the Alt key and you can select the objects you want to measure. 
  
• 3DX Canvas provides new 3D DRC Bond Wire Clearances with Real 3D DRC Checks. True 3D DRC in Constraint Manager has been introduced. If you open Constraint Manager, there will be a new worksheet added. Following DRC checks are supported: 

  Wire to Wire 
  Wire to Finger 
  Wire to Shape 
  Wire to Cline 
  Wire to Component

Have you ever encountered ERROR(SPMHNI-67) while importing logic? If yes, you might already know that you had to export libraries of the design and make sure that paths (devpath, padpath, and psmpath) include the location of exported files.  

Starting in SPB23.1, if you go to File > Import > Logic/Netlist and click on the Other tab, you will see an option, Reuse device files for existing components. 

After selecting this option, ERROR(SPMHNI-67) will no longer be there in the log file, because the tool will automatically extract device files and seamlessly use them for newly imported data. In other words, SPB_23.1 lets you reuse the device / component definitions already in the design without first having to dump libraries manually. An excellent improvement, don’t you think?  

Have you ever thought of a handy utility to specify all necessary transmission line parameters to decide upon the stackup?   

Starting SPB 23.1, a handy feature Transmission Line Calculator, is built into Allegro X Advanced Package Designer (Allegro X APD). This feature will require either an SiP Layout license or can be accessed through SiP Layout Bundle. 

From the Analyze dropdown menu in the 23.1 Allegro X APD toolbar, you can choose Transmission Line Calculator. 

You can use this calculator to help decide constraints and stackup for laminate-based PCB or Packages. You can calculate the correct stackup material and width/spacing to meet any requirements that may be later entered in a constraint. This is truly a calculated number and not a true field solver. 

The different types of calculations that the Transmission Line Calculator can provide are Microstrip, Embedded microstrip, Stripline, CPW (Coplanar), FGCPW (frequency-dependent Coplanar), Asymmetric stripline, Coupled microstrip (Differential Pair), Coupled stripline (Differential Pair), and Dual striplines. 

This feature is important for customers relying on fabricators/spreadsheets to provide this information or need to test a quick spacing/width as per the impedance value. 

Let us know your comments on this new feature in 23.1 Allegro X APD. 

Starting SPB 23.1, Allegro X APD lets you import/export the symbol and component properties by using Die Text-In/Out wizards. 

Exporting the symbol 

You can export the symbol by using File > Export > Die Text-Out Wizard. 

In the Die Text-Out Wizard window, you can see the newly added options, that is, Component Properties and Symbol Properties. 

This entire information including the properties will be saved in a text file. 

Importing the symbol 

You can import the same text file in Allegro X APD by using Die Text-In Wizard. 

Choose the text file you want to import. 

Symbol properties added in the text file will be visible in the Die Text-In Wizard window. 

hello, help me!

There are many change in the bump design. I want to design bump by APD.

The bump(die) is a stagger , create it by die generator. 

Because，the pin is not isometric. In order to RDL routing, so the bump is not isometric.

I move the symbol pin in APD symbol edit（as show in the picture）,  and selected symbol RBM write device file, write library symbol.

Export the bga text( bga text out) ,But the bump is not modified, the bump is still stagger.

Can you help me!

pitch2> pitch1

thanks

The vision manager is good tool for routing check. but no quickly or effective  tool to fix or optimize this  problems to be optimized.

For example, parallel Gap less than preferred, min seg/Arc length,uncoupled diff-pair segs，and so on.

I only know use spread between voids to fix the non-optimized segs. in fact it is inefficient.

the parallel gap less than preferred is only to slice evry trace, its inefficient.

If i set the paraller gap less than 50um, Is there any tool to quickly fix these problems（gap less than 50um）?

For other problems，i can use tool to quickly fix the min seg/Arc length，uncoupled diff pair segs，accoding to select by polygon or select  by windows.

By default, a dielectric must separate each pair of conductor layers in the cross-section of a design. In rare cases, this does not represent the real, manufactured substrate.

If your design requires you to have conductor layers that are not separated by a dielectric (such as, for half-etch designs), there is a variable that needs to be set in Allegro X APD. You must set this by enabling the variable icp_allow_adjacent_conductors. This entry, and its location in the User Preferences Editor, are shown in the following image.

The Objects on adjacent conductor layers do not electrically connect together, automatically. A via must be used to establish the inter-layer connections.

When enabling this option, it is recommended to exercise caution because excluding dielectric layers from your cross-section can lead to inaccurate calculations, including the calculations for signal integrity and via heights. It is important that your cross-section accurately reflect the finished product to ensure the most accurate results possible. Any dielectric layers present in the manufactured part need to be in the cross-section for accurate extraction, 3D viewing, and so on.

Let us know your comments on the various designs that would require adjacent conductor layers.

Power and Ground rings are exposed rings of metal surrounding a die that supply power/ground to the die and create a low-impedance path for the current flow. These rings ensure stable power distribution and reduce noise. Allegro X Package Designer Plus has a utility called Power/Ground Ring Generator which lets you define and place one or more shapes in the form of a ring around a die.

 To run the PWR/GND Generator Wizard, go to Route > Power/Ground Ring Generator or type "pring wizard" in the APD command window to invoke the Wizard.

This Wizard lets you define and place one or more shapes in the form of a ring around a die. The Power/Ground Ring Wizard creates up to 12 rings (shapes) at a time. If you require more rings, you can run the Power/Ground Ring Wizard as many times as needed. This command displays a wizard in which you can specify:

• The number of rings to be generated
• The creation of the first ring as a die flag (Die flag is the boundary of the die like the power ring.)
  • If you create a die flag and the first ring is the same net as the flag, you can enter a negative distance to overlap the ring and the die flag.
• Multiple options for placement of the rings with respect to:
  • Origination point
  • Distance from the edge of the die
  • Distance from the nearest die pin on each die side
• The reference designator of the die with which the rings will be used
• The distance between rings
• The width of each ring
• The corner types on each ring (arc, chamfer, and right-angle)
• An assigned net name for each ring
• A label for each ring

The rings are basic in nature. For other shape geometries or split rings, choose Shape > Polygon or Shape > Compose/Decompose Shape from the menu in the design window.

Depending on the options selected, the Power/Ground Ring Wizard UI changes, representing how the rings will be created. Verify the Wizard settings to ensure that the rings are created as intended.

1. When the Power/Ground Ring Wizard appears, set the number of rings to 2, accept the other defaults, and click Next. You can set Create first ring as die flag to create a basic die flag.

         2. Define Ring 1 and the net associated with it.

              a) Browse and choose Vss in the Net Names dialog box.

            b) Click OK.

            c) Specify the label as VSS.

            d) Click Next.

             The first ring should appear in your design. It is associated with the proper net; in this case, VSS.

2. For the second ring, choose the net as Vdd and specify the label as VDD.
3. Click Next.
4. Click Finish in the Result Verification screen to complete the process.

The completed rings appear as shown below.

Now, when you click on Power and Ground Die Pin and add wirebonds, you will see that the wirebonds are placed directly on the Power and Ground rings.

When working on a complex design, it is common to have very many net ratlines. Quantities like 1000 ratlines are possible. It can result in a cluttered view while routing. Therefore, it is useful to make all other ratlines invisible while routing interactively. You would like to make all ratlines visible again when each route action is completed.

You can easily do this by enabling the Auto-blank other rats option during routing. When enabled, all rats other than the primary ones are suppressed during the Add Connect command.

Hello, SKILL experts. 

I'm studying SKILL language to build some useful function in APD+.

Now, I want to execute 'Import Sub-drawing' function in new form.

But I cannot find how to do execute APD+ embedded function in a field of new form. 

Has anyone experienced this or idea to solve this problem? 

Display Stream Compression (DSC) is a lossless or near-lossless image compression standard developed by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) for reducing the bandwidth required to transmit high-resolution video and images. DSC compresses video streams in real-time, allowing for higher resolutions, refresh rates, and color depths while minimizing the data load on transmission interfaces such as DisplayPort, HDMI, and embedded display interfaces.

Why Is DSC Needed?

In the ever-evolving landscape of display technology, the pursuit of higher resolutions and better visual quality is relentless. As display capabilities advance, so do the challenges of managing the immense amounts of data required to drive these high-performance screens. This is where DSC steps in. DSC is designed to address the challenges of transmitting ultra-high-definition content without sacrificing quality or performance. As displays grow in resolution and capability, the amount of data they need to transmit increases exponentially. DSC addresses these issues by compressing video streams in real-time, significantly reducing the bandwidth needed while preserving image quality.
 

DSC Use in End-to-end System

DSC Key Features

• Encoding tools:
  • Modified Median-Adaptive Prediction (MMAP)
  • Block Prediction (BP)
  • Midpoint Prediction (MPP)
  • Indexed color history (ICH)
  • Entropy coding using delta size unit-variable length coding (DSU-VLC)

• The DSC bitstream and decoding process are designed to facilitate the decoding of 3 pixels/clock in practical hardware decoder implementations. Hardware encoder implementations are possible at 1 pixel/clock.
• DSC uses an intra-frame, line-based coding algorithm, which results in very low latency for encoding and decoding.

DSC encoding algorithm
 

• Compression can be done to a fractional bpp. The compressed bits per pixel ranges from 6 to 63.9375.
• For validation/compliance certification of DSC compression and decompression engines, cyclic redundancy checks (CRCs) are used to verify the correctness of the bitstream and the reconstructed image.
• DSC supports more color bit depths, including 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 bpc.
• DSC supports RGB and YCbCr input format, supporting 4:4:4, 4:2:2, and 4:2:0 sampling.
• Maximum decompressor-supported bits/pixel values are as listed in the Maximum Allowed Bit Rate column in the table below

• DP DSC Source device shall program the bit rate within the range of Minimum Allowed Bit Rate column in the table:

Summary

Display Stream Compression (DSC) is a technology used in DisplayPort to enable higher resolutions and refresh rates while maintaining high image quality. It works by compressing the video data transmitted from the source to the display, effectively reducing the bandwidth required. DSC uses a visually lossless algorithm, meaning that the compression is designed to be imperceptible to the human eye, preserving the fidelity of the image. This technology allows for smoother, more detailed visuals at higher resolutions, such as 4K or 8K, without requiring a significant increase in data bandwidth.

More Information

• Cadence has a very mature Verification IP solution. Verification over many different configurations can be used with DisplayPort 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 designs, so you can choose the best version for your specific needs.
• The DisplayPort VIP provides a full-stack solution for Sink and Source devices with a comprehensive coverage model, protocol checkers, and an extensive test suite.
• More details are available on the DisplayPort Verification IP product page, Simulation VIP pages.
• If you have any queries, feel free to contact us at talk_to_vip_expert@cadence.com

Cadence Protium prototyping platforms rapidly bring up an SoC or system prototype and provide a pre-silicon platform for early software development, SoC verification, system validation, and hardware regressions. In this Training W ebinar, we will explore debugging using Save/Restart on Protium X2 . This feature saves execution time and lets you focus on actual debugging. The system state can be saved before the bug appears and restartS directly from there without spending time in initial execution. We’ll cover key concepts and applications, explore Save/Restart performance metrics, and provide examples to help you understand the concepts. Agenda: The key concepts of debugging using save/restart Capabilities, limitations, and performance metrics Some examples to enable and use save/restart on the Protium X2 system Date and Time Thursday, November 7, 2024 07:00 PST San Jose / 10:00 EST New York / 15:00 GMT London / 16:00 CET Munich / 17:00 IST Jerusalem / 20:30 IST Bangalore / 23:00 CST Beijing REGISTER To register for this webinar, sign in with your Cadence Support account (email ID and password) to log in to the Learning and Support System*. Then select Enrol to register for the session. Once registered, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing all login details. A quick reminder: If you haven’t received a registration confirmation within 1 hour of registering, please check your spam folder and ensure your pop-up blockers are off and cookies are enabled. For issues with registration or other inquiries, reach out to eur_training_webinars@cadence.com . Want to See More Webinars? You can find recordings of all past webinars here Like This Topic? Take this opportunity and register for the free online course related to this webinar topic: Protium Introduction Training The course includes slides with audio and downloadable lab exercises designed to emphasize the topics covered in the lecture. There is also a Digital Badge available for the training. Want to share this and other great Cadence learning opportunities with someone else? Tell them to subscribe . Hungry for Training? Choose the Cadence Training Menu that’s right for you. To view our complete training offerings, visit the Cadence Training website . Related Courses Protium Introduction Training Course | Cadence Palladium Introduction Training Course | Cadence Related Blogs Training Insights – A New Free Online Course on the Protium System for Beginner and Advanced Users Training Insights – Palladium Emulation Course for Beginner and Advanced Users Related Training Bytes Protium Flow Steps for Running Design on Protium System ICE and IXCOM mode comparison ICE compile flow IXCOM compile flow PATH settings for using Protium System Please see the course learning maps for a visual representation of courses and course relationships. Regional course catalogs may be viewed here

Allegro X System Capture offers a complete ecosystem for library development. This post introduces the latest DE-HDL Library Development using System Capture course in which you learn how to create different library objects. As a librarian, you often work with numerous libraries. Your tasks include creating or modifying symbols for libraries. To use Allegro X System Capture to create a library, you can follow the steps in the following flowchart: Let’s go through each step in detail. Setting the CDS_SITE Variable Before you start library development for a new project, set the CDS_SITE system environment variable. This step is required to access libraries and other configuration files. Creating a Project in Allegro X System Capture The next step is to create a project in Allegro X System Capture. Adding a Library to the Project Symbol development consists of creating symbol graphics, electrical data, and properties used by different tools in the PCB design flow. To add a library to a project, first create a library in the Libraries pane of the Project e xplorer. Creating Library Symbols The library development process supports the creation of various types of symbols. Creating a Symbol with Multiple Views You can generate multiple views of the same symbol using the Duplicate command. For example, a discrete symbol, such as a resistor, can have multiple views, as shown in the following image: Creating a Split Symbol For advanced designs, you often need to create library symbols and break them into multiple sections to support the design process. When a symbol shows all the logical pins in the physical package, it is called a single-section or flat symbol. Many large ICs have several pins and the symbols need to fit on a single schematic page. One workaround is to use vector pin names on a symbol to reduce its size, although manufacturers prefer schematics that show each pin. You can divide these high-pin count devices into smaller pieces, where each piece is a separate version of the part. Such parts are referred to as split parts or multi-section symbols. For multi-section symbols, you can create two types of split parts—symmetrical and asymmetrical. Symmetrical Split Symbols A symmetrical split symbol has only one symbol graphic, which holds two or more identical logic symbols, each with its own unique physical pin numbers. You can create a symmetrical split symbol using the Duplicate Section icon in the canvas window. Each symbol section contains the same set of pins but different pin numbers, as shown in the following image: Asymmetrical Split Symbols An asymmetrical split symbol is a symbol whose physical package contains one or more unique schematic symbols. You can create an asymmetrical split symbol by clicking the New Section icon in the canvas window. Asymmetrical symbols have a unique set of logical pins, as shown in the following image: Creating Symbols Using the Spreadsheet Interface To simplify the development of large symbols, Allegro X System Capture has a Spreadsheet Interface . You can copy from a spreadsheet into the interface. This saves time and helps minimize errors introduced by manual entry. In conclusion, the DE-HDL library development using Allegro X System Capture course involves several critical steps and supports various symbol creation techniques. This course helps librarians create and modify symbols effortlessly and deepens their understanding of library development within Allegro X System Capture. To learn more about this topic, enroll in the DE-HDL Library Development using Allegro X System Capture course on the Cadence Support portal . Click the training byte link now or visit Cadence Support and search for training bytes under Video Library. If you find the post useful and want to delve deeper into training details, enroll in the following online training course for lab instructions and a downloadable design: DE-HDL Library Development using Allegro X System Capture (Online). You can become Cadence Certified once you complete the course. Cadence Training Services now offers free Digital Badges for all popular online training courses. These badges indicate proficiency in a certain technology or skill and give you a way to validate your expertise to managers and potential employers. You can add the digital badge to your email signature or any social media channels, such as Facebook or LinkedIn, to highlight your expertise. To find out more, see the blog post Take a Cadence Masterclass and Get a Badge . You might also be interested in the training Learning Map that guides you through recommended course flows as well as tool experience and knowledge-level training modules. To find information on how to get an account on the Cadence Learning and Support portal, see here . SUBSCRIBE to the Cadence training newsletter to be updated about upcoming training, webinars, and much more. If you have any questions about courses, schedules, online training, blended/virtual live training, or public, or onsite live training, reach out to us at Cadence Training .

An increasing number of embedded designs are multi-core systems. At the pre-silicon stage, customers use a simulation platform for architectural exploration and software development. Architects want to quantify the impact of the number of cores, local memory size, system memory latency, and interconnect bandwidth. Software teams wish to have a practical development platform that is not excruciatingly slow. This blog shares a recipe for simulating Cadence DSPs in a multi-core design as separate x86 processes. The purpose is to reduce simulation time for customers with simple multi-core models where cores interact only through shared memory. It uses a Vision Q8 multi-core design to share details of the XTSC (Xtensa SystemC) model, software application, commands, and debugging. Note the details shared are for a simulation run on an Ubuntu Linux machine, Xtensa tools version RI-2023.11, and core configuration XRC_Vision_Q8_AODP. Complex vs. Simple Model A complex model (Figure 1) is one in which one core accesses another core's local memory, or there are inter-core interrupts. Simulation runs as a single x86 process. Figure 1 A simple model (Figure 2) is one in which cores interact only through shared memory. Shared memory is a file on the Linux host. Figure 2 Multiple x86 Process – Simple Model As depicted in Figure 3, each core is simulated using a separate x86 process. Cores use barriers and locks placed in shared memory for synchronization and data sharing. Locks are placed in un-cached memory that support exclusive subordinate access. The XTSC memory component, xtsc_memory , supports exclusive subordinate access. Cadence software tools provide a way to define memory regions as cached or uncached. For more details, please refer to Cadence's Linker Support Packages (LSP) Reference Manual for Xtensa SDK . Figure 3 Demo Application A demo application performs a 128x128 matrix multiplication. Work is divided so that each of the 32 cores computes four rows of the 128x128 result matrix. Cores use barriers to synchronize. Cadence tools provide APIs for synchronization and locking. Please refer to Cadence's System Software Reference Manual for more details. Note without a higher-level lock, prints from all cores will get mixed up. Therefore, in the demo application, only core#0 prints. SystemC Simulation The following sample command runs the 32-core simulation in such a way that each core is a separate x86 process. It runs a matrix multiplication application in cycle-accurate mode with logging off. >>for (( N=0; N >xtsc-run -define=NumCores=32 -define=N=0 -define=LOGGING=0 -define=TURBO=0 --xxdebug=sync -i=coreNN.inc -sc_main=sc_main.cpp -no_sim Modify the sc_main.cpp generated for core#0 to create a generic sc_main.cpp to build a single simulation executable for all cores. The Xtensa SDK includes Makefile targets to build custom simulations. By default, the simulation runs in cycle-accurate mode. Fast functional (Turbo) mode provides additional improvement over cycle-accurate mode. Note that the fast functional mode has an initialization phase, so gains are visible only when running an application with longer run times. Simulation Wall Time The table captures simulation wall time improvements. Note that these are illustrative wall time numbers. Actual wall time numbers and improvements will depend on your host machine's performance and your application. Simulation Type Wall Time Comments Single process cycle accurate mode 17500 seconds Multiple x86 processes cycle accurate mode 1385 seconds 12X faster than single process Multiple x86 processes turbo mode 415 seconds 3X faster than cycle accurate mode Debugging Attaching a debugger to each of the individual x86 core simulation processes is possible. Synchronous stop/resume and core-specific breakpoints are also supported. Configure the Xplorer launch configuration and attach it to the running simulation processes as follows (Figure 5) Figure 5 Figure 6 shows 32 debug contexts. Figure 6 As shown, using Xtensa SDK, you can create a multi-core simulation that functions as a practical software development platform. Please visit the Cadence support site for information on building and simulating multi-core Xtensa systems.

The demand for higher compute performance, energy efficiency, and faster time-to-market drove the conversations at this year's Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit in San Jose, California. It was the scene of showcasing groundbreaking innovations, expert-led sessions, and networking opportunities to drive the future of data center technology. For those who didn't get to attend or stop by our booth, here's a recap of Cadence's comprehensive solutions that enable next-generation compute technology, AI data center design, analysis, and optimization. Optimized Data Center Design and Operations As the data center community increasingly faces demands for enhanced efficiency, thermal management, sustainability, and performance optimization, data center operators, IT managers, and executives are looking for solutions to these challenges. At the Cadence booth, attendees explored the Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform and Celsius EC Solver. These technologies are pivotal in achieving high-performance standards for AI data centers, providing advanced digital twin modeling capabilities that redefine next-generation data center design and operation. The Celsius EC Solver demonstration showed how it solves challenging thermal and electronics cooling management problems with precision and speed. CadenceCONNECT: Take the Heat Out of Your AI Data Center Cadence hosted a networking reception on October 16 titled "Take the Heat Out of Your AI Data Center." In today's AI era, managing the heat generated by high-density computing environments is more critical than ever. This reception offered insights into current and emerging data center technologies, digital twin cooling strategies that deliver energy-saving operations, and a chance to engage with industry leaders, Cadence experts, and peers to explore the latest cooling, AI, and GPU acceleration advancements. Here's a recap: Researcher, author, and entrepreneur Dr. Jon Koomey highlighted the inefficiency of data centers in his talk "The Rise of Zombie Data Centers," noting that 20-30% of their capacity is stranded and unused. He advocated for organizational changes and technological solutions like digital twins to reduce wasted energy and improve computational effectiveness as AI deployments increase. In "A New Millennium in Multiphysics System Analysis," Cadence Corporate VP Ben Gu explained the company's significant strides in multiphysics system analysis, evolving from chip simulation to a broader application of computational software for simulating various physical systems, including entire data centers. He noted that the latest Cadence venture, a digital twin platform for data center optimization, opened the opportunity to use simulation technology to optimize the efficiency of data centers. Senior Software Engineering Group Director Albert Zeng highlighted the Cadence Reality DC suite's ability to transform data center operations through simulation, emphasizing its multi-phase engine for optimal thermal performance and the integration of AI capabilities for enhanced design and management. A panel discussion titled "Turning AI Factory Blueprints into Reality at the Speed of Light" featured industry experts from NVIDIA, Norman Wright Precision Environmental and Power, NV5, Switch Data Centers, and Cadence, who explored the evolving requirements and multidimensional challenges of AI factories, emphasizing the need for collaboration across the supply chain to achieve high-performing and sustainable data centers. Watch the highlights. Transforming Designs from Chips to Data Centers The OCP Global Summit 2024 has reaffirmed its status as a pivotal event for data center professionals seeking to stay at the forefront of technological advancements. Cadence's contributions, from groundbreaking digital twin technologies to innovative cooling strategies, have shed light on the path forward for efficient, sustainable data centers. For data center professionals, IT managers, and engineers, the insights gained at this summit are invaluable in navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by the burgeoning AI era. Partnering with Arm Arm Total Design Cadence is a member of the Arm Total Design program. At an invitation-only special Arm event, Cadence's VP of Research and Development, Lokesh Korlipara, delivered a presentation focusing on data center challenges and design solutions with Arm Neoverse Compute Subsystem (CSS). The session highlighted: Efficient integration of Arm Neoverse CSS into system on chips (SoCs) with pre-integrated connectivity IP Performance analysis and verification of the Neoverse CSS integration into the SoC through Cadence's System VIP verification suite and automated testbench creation, enhancing both quality and productivity Jumpstarting designs through Cadence's collaboration with Arm for 3D-IC system planning, chiplets, and interposers Design Services readiness and global scale to support and/or deliver the most demanding Arm Neoverse CSS-based SoC design projects Cadence Supports Arm CSS in Arm Booth During the event, Cadence conducted a demo in the Arm booth that showcased the Cadence System VIP verification suite. The demo highlighted automated testbench creation and performance analysis for integrating the Arm CSS into SoCs while enhancing verification quality and productivity. Summary Cadence offers data center solutions for designing everything from the compute and networking chips to the board, racks, data centers, and campuses. Stay connected with Cadence and other industry leaders to continue exploring the innovations set to redefine the future of data centers. Learn More Cadence Joins Arm Total Design Cadence Arm-Based Solutions Cadence Reality Digital Twin Platform

Hi ,

  FIrst of all , I hope I have posted my query in the right place . I am expecting software support/suggestions for the below issue.

   I am working on LTE which use USB interface and the Host Controller is USB 2.0 . The BSP is from NXP which supports Cadence USB 3.0 Host controller and with USB 3.0 supported cadence driver.NXP had used the   USB 3.0 host controller for USB type C based device.

  Cadence USB 3.0 based device driver seems to be backward compatible for USB 2.0 host controller .Since basic LTE functionalities seems to be working fine I continued to use the same driver in Linux 4.14.62 

  But I am facing a kernel warning of unhandled interrupt and the crash log points to cdns_irq function as shown below  The crash/kerenel warning is very random and not occuring all the time.

.691533] irq 36: nobody cared (try booting with the "irqpoll" option)

[ 1.698242] CPU: 0 PID: 87 Comm: kworker/0:1 Not tainted 4.9.88 #24

[ 1.704509] Hardware name: Freescale i.MX8QXP MEK (DT)

[ 1.709659] Workqueue: pm pm_runtime_work

[ 1.713675] Call trace:

[ 1.716123] [<ffff0000080897d0>] dump_backtrace+0x0/0x1b0

[ 1.721523] [<ffff000008089994>] show_stack+0x14/0x20

[ 1.726582] [<ffff0000083daff0>] dump_stack+0x94/0xb4

[ 1.731638] [<ffff00000810f064>] __report_bad_irq+0x34/0xf0

[ 1.737212] [<ffff00000810f4ec>] note_interrupt+0x2e4/0x330

[ 1.742790] [<ffff00000810c594>] handle_irq_event_percpu+0x44/0x58

[ 1.748974] [<ffff00000810c5f0>] handle_irq_event+0x48/0x78

[ 1.754553] [<ffff0000081100a8>] handle_fasteoi_irq+0xc0/0x1b0

[ 1.760390] [<ffff00000810b584>] generic_handle_irq+0x24/0x38

[ 1.766141] [<ffff00000810bbe4>] __handle_domain_irq+0x5c/0xb8

[ 1.771979] [<ffff000008081798>] gic_handle_irq+0x70/0x15c

1.807416] 7a40: 00000000000002ba ffff80002645bf00 00000000fa83b2da 0000000001fe116e

[ 1.815252] 7a60: ffff000088bf7c47 ffffffffffffffff 00000000000003f8 ffff0000085c47b8

[ 1.823088] 7a80: 0000000000000010 ffff800026484600 0000000000000001 ffff8000266e9718

[ 1.830925] 7aa0: ffff00000b8b0008 ffff800026784280 ffff00000b8b000c ffff00000b8d8018

[ 1.838760] 7ac0: 0000000000000001 ffff000008b76000 0000000000000000 ffff800026497b20

[ 1.846596] 7ae0: ffff00000810bd24 ffff800026497b20 ffff000008851d18 0000000000000145

[ 1.854433] 7b00: ffff000008b8d6c0 ffff0000081102d8 ffffffffffffffff ffff00000810dda8

[ 1.862268] [<ffff000008082eec>] el1_irq+0xac/0x120

[ 1.867155] [<ffff000008851d18>] _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x18/0x48

[ 1.873684] [<ffff00000810bd24>] __irq_put_desc_unlock+0x1c/0x48

[ 1.879695] [<ffff00000810de10>] enable_irq+0x48/0x70

[ 1.884756] [<ffff0000085ba8f8>] cdns3_enter_suspend+0x1f0/0x440

[ 1.890764] [<ffff0000085baca0>] cdns3_runtime_suspend+0x48/0x88

[ 1.896776] [<ffff0000084cf398>] pm_generic_runtime_suspend+0x28/0x40

[ 1.903223] [<ffff0000084dc3e8>] genpd_runtime_suspend+0x88/0x1d8

[ 1.909320] [<ffff0000084d0e08>] __rpm_callback+0x70/0x98

[ 1.914724] [<ffff0000084d0e50>] rpm_callback+0x20/0x88

[ 1.919954] [<ffff0000084d1b2c>] rpm_suspend+0xf4/0x4c8

[ 1.925184] [<ffff0000084d20fc>] rpm_idle+0x124/0x168

[ 1.930240] [<ffff0000084d26c0>] pm_runtime_work+0xa0/0xb8

[ 1.935732] [<ffff0000080dc1dc>] process_one_work+0x1dc/0x380

[ 1.941481] [<ffff0000080dc3c8>] worker_thread+0x48/0x4d0

[ 1.946885] [<ffff0000080e2408>] kthread+0xf8/0x100
[ 1.957080] handlers:

[ 1.959350] [<ffff0000085ba668>] cdns3_irq

[ 1.963449] Disabling IRQ #36

 Kindly provide a solution to solve this issue.

Thanks & Regards,

Anjali

Cadence_SPB_17.4-2019 + Matlab R2019a

请参考本文档中的步骤进行操作

1，打开BJT_AMP.opj

2，设置Matlab路径

3，打开BJT_AMP_SLPS.slx

4，打开后，设置PSpiceBlock，出现或CEFSimpleUI.exe停止工作

5，添加模块

6，相同

7，打开pspsim.slx

8，相同

9，打开C： Cadence Cadence_SPB_17.4-2019 tools bin

orCEFSimpleUI.exe和orCEFSimple.exe

10，相同

我想问一下如何解决，非常感谢！

I want to download Xtensa C/C++ Compiler (XCC) . I dont know where to download. Please help me.

Hi 

I have a Xtensa compiler issue that the compilation for switch case would be optimized in some patterns and leads to unexpected result. I cross-checked the assembly code and found that such compiler optimization seems to be similar to the tree-switch-conversion feature in GCC compiler

• https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc-9.1.0/gcc/Optimize-Options.html
  -ftree-switch-conversion
      Perform conversion of simple initializations in a switch to initializations from a scalar array. This flag is enabled by default at -O2 and highe

Unfortunately I don't find any similar compiler option(like -fno-tree-switch-conversion) in Xtensa compiler(XCC) to enable/disable such feature and such feature seems like enabled in XCC by default even if I'm using -O0 for the least optimization.

I'm wondering if there's any possible solution to permanently disable such feature in XCC?

PS: The release version of XCC compiler I'm using is RD-2012.5

Thanks!

During a mixed-signal simulation, the analog engine usually dominates the simulation time and resources. If you need to run only the analog engine in several windows, or if you would like to to run multiple tests of the same circuit with different stimuli or test pattern, then you need to run the simulation multiple times. View this blog to know more about the the two advanced technologies that Spectre AMS Designer provides to help you improve the efficiency of your mixed-signal designs and to increase the simulation speed.(read more)

Read this blog to know how you can easily create and insert connect modules using Spectre AMS Designer with the Verilog-AMS standard language defined by Accellera. (read more)

Hello, I was wondering how can I create variable fields in the layout.

To start, I have a template for some type of designs, and I would like that one of the texts on the silkscreen changes accordingly to an external variable, like the folder name, or a text file in the same folder.

I was thinking something similar to a page frame that changes the date automatically. How can I generate that type of fields?

I'm not able to export a CIS Standard BOM to a Microsoft 365 Excel (business subscription, version 2111).
Selecting the "Export BOM report to Excel" option opens a new Excel window, but OrCAD (17.4-2019 S023) won't fill it with any data...

I tried it on a different PC with Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 Excel (strangely the version number is the same: 2111) and with OrCAD 17.4-2019 S016 and it worked flawlessly.

Does anybody experiencing the same issue?
Does the Excel variant, the OrCAD version or the PC itself causing this?
Thanks for any help!

Hi,

I have a question about printing noise summary via maestro output expressions.

How can I print noise data using output expressions, for multiple levels of the hierarchy?

I have found this article which describe the procedure using ocnGenNoiseSummary() function: https://support.cadence.com/apex/ArticleAttachmentPortal?id=a1Od0000007MViHEAW&pageName=ArticleContent

I see also Andrew Beckett referring to the above mentioned article as a solution to a similar question: community.cadence.com/.../noise-summary-per-instance

However, this seems to work only if I'm to extract noise data from a single level of hierarchy.

If I have the output expression "ocnGenNoiseSummary(2 ?result 'hbnoise)", it will generate a "noisesummary" directory under results directory for a hierarchy level of 2.

If I am to extract data from various hierarchy levels, I should be able to generate multiple noise summary directories, such as noisesummary1, noisesummary2 where they correspond to "ocnGenNoiseSummary(1 ?result 'hbnoise)" & "ocnGenNoiseSummary(2 ?result 'hbnoise)", respectively. However this does not seem to be possible.

Can you please advice? Thanks.

My Cadence version: IC23.1-64b.ISR7.27

BR,

Denizhan Karaca

Hi

In the environment I'm currently working, axes are shown for schematic, symbol, and layout views.For schematics and symbols, I'd prefer a dim gray, such that the axes are just visible but not dominant. For the layout, I'd prefer a brighter color. Is there a way to realize this? So far when I change the color of the 'axis' layer in the display resource editor, the axes in all three views get changed together:

Thanks very much for your input!

How can I place stacked vias with the size exact same cut width without metals around?
As the red part only in the image below?

For reasons too complicated to go into here, I need to generate the code for a veriloga view from a outside the normal Verilog-A editor. I would start with an "empty" veriloga view generated from the symbol in the normal way so I get the port order correct, then use external code to provide "guts" of the veriloga view by overwriting the generated code.

My understanding is that and code changes made external to the normal flow do not get picked up by Cadence - the Verilog-A code gets read at design time, not at netlist time. Would simply forcing a check and save of the veriloga view after the code is modified fix that problem? Or is there an easier way to incorporate externally generated Verilog-A code?

Hello,


I would like to use the simulation software xrun/simvision that comes with XCELIUM. We are currently using classroom licenses and want to disable all ip addresses on the student pcs except the license server ip. We want to make sure that students cannot copy confidential data from the Cadence tools.


Problem:

When I launch the xrun simulation while all ip addresses are blocked, it starts but the performance is very slow. The GUI starts after 5 minutes and the simulation is ready after 10 minutes. The interesting thing is that when I enable all blocked ip addresses, everything works at a reasonable speed.

Terminal Output (execution without internet connection):

xrun -gui design.vhd

waiting for SimVision/Verisium Debug to connect...


Is there a way to run the simulation tools without an Internet connection? Or can you give me the ip addresses that are used by the simulation tools so that I can enable only those specific ips?


Regards,

Max

Hello

i did a sp-Analysis and now i want to extract the maximum value of the s11 trace and the corresponding frequency.

I already tried ymax() in the calculator but i am suspecting it only works on transient Signals.

Hi

I have a rather strange question - is there a way to tell layout XL to NOT place the error/warning markers on a design when I open a cell?  I do a lot of my layout by using arrays from placed instances and create mosaics that completely ignore the metadata that Layout XL uses with its bindings with schematic (and instances get deleted etc. but I do like using it to generate all my pins etc.) and it's just really annoying when I open a design that I know is LVS clean and since the connectivity metadata is all screwed up (because I did not use it to actually complete the layout) I have a design that's just blinking at me at every gate, source and drain.  I typically delete them at the high level heirarchically but the second I go in and modify something and come back up it places all of them again.  I know that if I flatten all the p cells it goes away but sometimes it's nice to have that piece of metadata but that's about it.  Is there a way to "break" the features of XL like this?  I realize what a weird question this is but it's becoming more of an issue since we moved to IC 23 from IC 6 where there is no longer a layout L that I can use free from these annoyances that can't use any of the connectivity metadata.

Thanks

Chris

I'm trying to use Jasper for checking parameter propagation in a large design. I have a list of top-level parameters, each with a HDL path of a module parameter somewhere lower in the hierarchy that's supposed to receive its value from the top-level module. The FPV app seems like an excellent tool for this, but elaborating the entire design in it is extremely time-consuming and memory-intensive. So, I'm trying to black-box everything but the interesting HDL paths. I thought using `elaborate -top dut_module_name -bbox_i * -no_bbox_i inst_foo -no_bbox_i inst_bar (...)` would work, but it doesn't. Jasper just starts flooding the log with warnings from modules that are definitely not on the whitebox list, and eventually dies due to insufficient memory. When I use -bbox_m * it correctly elaborates the top-level module with all of its sub-modules black-boxed. But then the -no_bbox_i switches have no effect. Could anyone suggest a working solution for this use case?

Hello,

I have been running this `uvm_reg_hw_reset_seq` sequence for the AHB protocol. My UVM Adapter looks like:

Issue: When I use basic reg.write, my write access are working well, as that is managed by the driver i.e. once adapter gives the packet to the driver, the driver supplies the address and the control signals to the DUT on the first clock cycle and then the write data on the next clock cycle. But when I am performing the read operation, somehow the UVM adapter is reading the data at the same clock cycle where read address + Controls are supplied and this is triggering read failure messages from the `uvm_reg_hw_reset_seq` sequence. What should I modify in the driver/sequencer/adapter so that the UVM adapter can read the data on the next cycle instead of the same clock cycle.

Just FYI: The waveforms of the read operation are correct, it is just the Adapter and the `uvm_reg_hw_reset_seq`. The AHB Driver + AHB Monitor is fully proven and verified to be working correctly.

I'm completely new to Cadence. I've been able to run a very simple simulation with the -gui option. Simvision opens, I add the variables to the waveform viewer, and press run. All is good.

I don't understand the flow when using the -nogui option. It appears that the simulation runs and returns control to the OS. When I launch Simvision, is there a database or file that I can open to display the already-simulated data?

My command is of the form:

xrun -gui -64bit -sv -access +rwc -top tb_top.sv <src files>

I'm working on the code coverage. Doing a metrics analysis by default we see overall average grade and overall covered. But when i do a block analysis on an instance i see overall covered grade, code covered grade, block covered grade, statement covered grade, expression covered grade, toggle covered grade.

As I dont know the difference I started to read the IMC user guide and came to know there are 3 things we come across while doing a code coverage local, covered, average

From my understanding

local - child instances metrics doesnt reach the parent level. For example, we have an instance Q and its sub instances like Q.a, Q.b. Block Local grade of Q can be 100% even when its instances Q.a and Q.b a block local grades isnt at 100%.

In the attached image there is formula 

The key difference between average and covered is the weights.

Average : Mathematically taking the above scenario where Q.a, and Q.b has 10 blocks each. Q.a has covered 8 blocks and q.b has covered 2 blocks. Now if we take the normal average it should be total covered/ totatl number = 8+2/10+10 yielding 50%. But when we add weights saying Q.a is 70% and Q.b is 30% the new number would be (8*0.7+2*0.3) / (10*0.7+10*0.3) resulting 62%. Because of the weights we see 12% bump.

Covered: there is no role of weights.

Among these 3 metrics i've changed my default view to this in the image to get more realistic picture when i do analyze metrics. Do you guys agree with the approach?

I want to do a 2-step build->simulate as follow:

1. Make multiple builds using xrun -elaborate [other options]. The purpose is to create multiple builds with different compile-time macros (+define+MACROA +define+MACROB=ABC). Each build is located in a different directory.

2. Run simulation with xrun -r. This is where I need help. How do I specify which build to simulate? Also, I need the simulation directory (with log files, …) to be different than the build directory.

Has anyone been able to achieve this or similar solutions?

I just completed the setup of xcelium and I am trying to test a very simple vhdl file - I got " CSI: *F,INTERR: INTERNAL EXCEPTION" without any further explanation. Could someone point me to how to investigate this error further?

csi-xmelab - CSI: Command line: 
xmelab
-f /home/cadadmin/test/xcelium.d/run.lnx86.23.03.d/xmelab.args
-ACCESS +r
-no_analogsolver
-MESSAGES
andgate
-XLMODE ./xcelium.d/run.lnx86.23.03.d
-RUNMODE
-CDSLIB ./xcelium.d/run.lnx86.23.03.d/cds.lib
-HDLVAR ./xcelium.d/run.lnx86.23.03.d/hdl.var
-WORK worklib
-IRUNHASTOP
-CHECK_VERSION TOOL: xrun 23.03-s001
-LOG_FD 4

csi-xmelab - CSI: *F,INTERR: INTERNAL EXCEPTION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The tool has encountered an unexpected condition and must exit.
Contact Cadence Design Systems customer support about this
problem and provide enough information to help us reproduce it,
including the logfile that contains this error message.
TOOL: xmelab 23.03-s001
OPERATING SYSTEM: Linux 4.18.0-513.9.1.el8_9.x86_64 #1 
Elaboration of package STD.STANDARD
-----------------------------------------------------------------

csi-xmelab - CSI: Cadence Support Investigation, recording details
csi-xmelab - CSI: investigation complete took 0.000 secs, send this file to Cadence Support