Microwave Office is Cadence’s tool-of-choice for RF and microwave designers designing everything from III-V 5G chips, to RF systems in board and package technologies. These types of designs require close interaction between the schematic and its layout. A new Training Byte demonstrates how the schematic-layout connections is built into Microwave Office.(read more)

Data sets are a powerful and easy-to-use feature in Microwave Office. Data can be effortlessly be swapped in graphs, and circuit schematics.(read more)

I'm currently trying to explore the verilog simulation option in cadence.

One thing that comes to my mind that if there exists a way in cadence workflow to dump selected register/wire's waveform during the simulation. 

Are there any additional tools needed apart from xcelium, is there a tutorial or specific training course for this aspect. I glance through Xcelium Simulator Course Version 22.09, but it seems not having related context. 

I know in Synopsys's workflow, it can be realized using verdi & fsdb in the command line as follows:

if (inst.CTRL_STATE==STATE_START_TO_DUMP)

$fsdbDumpvars(0, inst_1.reg_0);

end

Thanks in advance!

This is the 15th installment of The Rationalist, my column for the Times of India.

It’s election season, and promises are raining down on voters like rose petals on naïve newlyweds. Earlier this week, the Congress party announced a minimum income guarantee for the poor. This Friday, the Modi government released a budget full of sops. As the days go by, the promises will get bolder, and you might feel important that so much attention is being given to you. Well, the joke is on you.

Every election, HL Mencken once said, is “an advance auction sale of stolen goods.” A bunch of competing mafias fight to rule over you for the next five years. You decide who wins, on the basis of who can bribe you better with your own money. This is an absurd situation, which I tried to express in a limerick I wrote for this page a couple of years ago:

POLITICS: A neta who loves currency notes/ Told me what his line of work denotes./ ‘It is kind of funny./ We steal people’s money/And use some of it to buy their votes.’

We’re the dupes here, and we pay far more to keep this circus going than this circus costs. It would be okay if the parties, once they came to power, provided good governance. But voters have given up on that, and now only want patronage and handouts. That leads to one of the biggest problems in Indian politics: We are stuck in an equilibrium where all good politics is bad economics, and vice versa.

For example, the minimum guarantee for the poor is good politics, because the optics are great. It’s basically Garibi Hatao: that slogan made Indira Gandhi a political juggernaut in the 1970s, at the same time that she unleashed a series of economic policies that kept millions of people in garibi for decades longer than they should have been.

This time, the Congress has released no details, and keeping it vague makes sense because I find it hard to see how it can make economic sense. Depending on how they define ‘poor’, how much income they offer and what the cost is, the plan will either be ineffective or unworkable.

The Modi government’s interim budget announced a handout for poor farmers that seemed rather pointless. Given our agricultural distress, offering a poor farmer 500 bucks a month seems almost like mockery.

Such condescending handouts solve nothing. The poor want jobs and opportunities. Those come with growth, which requires structural reforms. Structural reforms don’t sound sexy as election promises. Handouts do.

A classic example is farm loan waivers. We have reached a stage in our politics where every party has to promise them to assuage farmers, who are a strong vote bank everywhere. You can’t blame farmers for wanting them – they are a necessary anaesthetic. But no government has yet made a serious attempt at tackling the root causes of our agricultural crisis.

Why is it that Good Politics in India is always Bad Economics? Let me put forth some possible reasons. One, voters tend to think in zero-sum ways, as if the pie is fixed, and the only way to bring people out of poverty is to redistribute. The truth is that trade is a positive-sum game, and nations can only be lifted out of poverty when the whole pie grows. But this is unintuitive.

Two, Indian politics revolves around identity and patronage. The spoils of power are limited – that is indeed a zero-sum game – so you’re likely to vote for whoever can look after the interests of your in-group rather than care about the economy as a whole.

Three, voters tend to stay uninformed for good reasons, because of what Public Choice economists call Rational Ignorance. A single vote is unlikely to make a difference in an election, so why put in the effort to understand the nuances of economics and governance? Just ask, what is in it for me, and go with whatever seems to be the best answer.

Four, Politicians have a short-term horizon, geared towards winning the next election. A good policy that may take years to play out is unattractive. A policy that will win them votes in the short term is preferable.

Sadly, no Indian party has shown a willingness to aim for the long term. The Congress has produced new Gandhis, but not new ideas. And while the BJP did make some solid promises in 2014, they did not walk that talk, and have proved to be, as Arun Shourie once called them, UPA + Cow. Even the Congress is adopting the cow, in fact, so maybe the BJP will add Temple to that mix?

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.” This election season, my friends, the people of India are on the menu. You have been deveined and deboned, marinated with rhetoric, seasoned with narrative – now enter the oven and vote.

The India Uncut Blog © 2010 Amit Varma. All rights reserved.
Follow me on Twitter.

Have you ever wanted to write a DRC rule deck to check for space or width constraints on polygons? Or have you wondered how the multiple lines of an LVS rule deck extract and conduct a comparison between the schematic and layout? Maybe you've been curious about the role of rule deck writers in creating high-quality designs ready for tape-out.

If any of these questions interest you, there is good news: the latest version (v23.1) of the Physical Verification Rules Writer (PVLRW) course is designed to teach you rule deck writing. This free 16-hour online course includes audio and labs designed to make your learning experience comfortable and flexible. Whether you are new to the concept or an experienced CAD/PDK engineer, the course is structured to enhance your rule deck writing skills.

The PVLRW course covers six core modules: Layer Processing, DRC Rules, Layout Extraction, ERC and LVS Rules, Schematic Netlisting, and Coloring Rules. There are also three optional appendix sections. Each module explains relevant rules with syntax, concepts, graphics, examples, and case studies.

This course is based on tool versions PEGASUS231 and Virtuoso Studio IC231.

Pegasus Input and Output

Pegasus is a cloud-ready physical verification signoff solution that enables engineers to support faster delivery of advanced-node integrated circuits (ICs) to market.

Pegasus requires input data in the form of layout geometry, schematic netlists, and rules that direct the tool operation. The rules fall into two categories: those that describe the fabrication process and those that control the job-specific operation.

Pegasus provides log and report files, netlists, databases, and error databases as output.

Overview of Pegasus Rule File

The rule decks written in Physical Verification Language (PVL) work for the Cadence PV signoff tools Pegasus and PVS (Physical Verification System).   

The PVL rules are placed in a file that gets selected in a run from the GUI or the command line, as the user directs. PVL rules may be on separate lines within the file and can also be contained in named rule blocks.

Each line of code starts with a PVL rule that uses prefix type notation. It consists of a keyword followed by options, input layer or variable names, and output layer or variable names.

A rule block has the format of the keyword rule, followed by a rule name you wish to give it, followed by an opening curly brace. You enter the rules you wish to perform, followed by a closing curly brace on the last separate line.

  Sample Rule deck with individual lines of code and rule blocks.

DRC Rules

The first step in a typical Pegasus flow is a Design Rule Check (DRC), which verifies that layout geometries conform to the minimum width, spacing, and other fabrication process rules required by an IC foundry. Each foundry specifies its own process-dependent rules that must be met by the layout design.

There are three types of DRC rules: layer definition rules, layer derivation rules, and DRC design check rules. Layer definition rules identify the layers contained in the input layout database, and layer derivation rules derive additional layers from the original input layers, allowing the tool to test the design against specific foundry requirements using the design check rules.

A sample DRC Rule deck

A layout view displaying the DRC violations

LVS Rules

The Pegasus Layout Versus Schematic (LVS) tool compares the layout netlist with the schematic netlist to check for discrepancies.

There are two essential LVS rule sets: LVS extraction rules and comparison rules. LVS extraction rules help extract drawn devices and connectivity information from the input layout geometry data and outputs into a layout netlist. The LVS extraction rule set also includes the layer definition, derivation, extraction, connectivity, and net listing rules.

LVS comparison rules are associated with comparing the extracted layout netlist to a schematic netlist.

A sample LVS Rule deck. 

TCL, Macros, and Conditional commands

Tcl is supported and used in various Pegasus functionalities, such as Pegasus rule files and Pegasus configurator. Macros are functional templates that are defined once and can be used multiple times in a rule file. Conditional Commands are used to process or skip specific commands in the rule file.

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About Knowledge Booster Training Bytes

Knowledge Booster Training Bytes is an online journal that relays information about Cadence Training videos, online courses, and upcoming webinars in the Learning section of the Cadence Learning and Support portal. This blog category brings you direct links to these videos, courses, and other related material on a regular basis. Subscribe to receive email notifications about our latest Custom IC Design blog posts.

Hi,

I have a LEF file with simple definitions of pad design which uses M8, M9, and AP layers. However, I failed to import the design with CIW > Import > LEF... as I encountered "ERROR: (OALEFDEF-90019): Ignoring the line 30 in the layer map file ... as it contains a syntax error. Each entry in the layer map file must have two values, LEFLayerName and OALayerNumber separated by a blank space." All lines in the file report the same OALEFDEF-90019 error.

The tech.layermap file looks like this:


# techLayer       techPurpose     stream# dataType

ref drawing 0 0
DNW drawing 1 0
PW drawing 2 0

Hi, I would be grateful if you can help me with this error which I get after trying to run an EMX simulation on a PCELL.

I've found very limited information in this forum. Thanks

Hello everyone,

For my cross-coupled oscillator design, I have a problem with stability analysis. Based on my achieved results which are attached, where is my design problem?

Best,

https://ibb.co/bgKFP4N

https://ibb.co/3FGRLmV

https://ibb.co/pwSZDSF

Che(read more)

This blog describes how to efficiently use Virtuoso Visualization and Analysis XL.(read more)

This blog helps in demonstrating the use of Pin to trunk routing style which helps in enhancing the layout experience.(read more)

In an era of abundant and constantly evolving information, the challenge is not just accessing knowledge but understanding and applying it effectively. AI is a transformative technology that is reshaping how we learn, work, and grow. In this blog, we’ll explore how AI accelerates our knowledge acquisition and understand how it can relate to the process of learning, which connects with our daily lives.

The role of AI is to accelerate knowledge by personalizing learning experiences, providing instant access to information, and offering data-driven insights. AI empowers us to learn more efficiently and effectively in many ways. I won't go into much detail, as we are already busy searching for the meaning of AI and what it can do; however, I want to share one inspiring fact about AI. It can analyze vast amounts of data in seconds, making sense of complex information and providing instantaneous actionable insights or concise answers. I understand that humans are looking to speed up things, which can help us understand technology better and perform our tasks faster.

The main reason AI is in focus is because of its ability to perform tasks faster than ever. We aim to enhance the performance of all our products, including the everyday household electronic items we use. Similarly, are we striving to accelerate the learning process? I am committed to assisting you, and one such method is concise, short (minute-long) videos.

In today's fast-paced world, where attention spans are shorter than ever, the rise of social media platforms has made it easier for anyone to create and share short videos. This is where minute videos come in. These bite-sized clips offer a quick and engaging way to deliver information to the audience with a significant impact. Understanding the definitions of technical terms in VLSI Design can often be accomplished in just a minute.

Below are the definitions of the essential stages in the RTL2GDSII Flow. For further reference, these definitions are also accessible on YouTube.

Want to Learn More?

The Cadence RTL-to-GDSII Flow training is available as both "Blended" and "Live" Please reach out to Cadence Training for further information.

And don't forget to obtain your Digital Badge after completing the training!

• You can check out a free Online Version of the training above, which is available 24/7 for all customers with a Cadence Learning ans Support Portal
• You will also have access to our Training Byte Library then which is full of hundres of troubleshooting videos, like the following: What is Digital Implementation?
• You can find more instructions how to get the best out of the Portal in this blog.
• If you would like to stay up-to-date with the latest news and information about Cadence trainings and webinars, subscribe to the Cadence Training emails.

Related Blogs

Training Insights – Why Is RTL Translated into Gate-Level Netlist?

Did You Miss the RTL-to-GDSII Webinar? No Worries, the Recording Is Available!

It’s the Digital Era; Why Not Showcase Your Brand Through a Digital Badge!

Binge on Chip Design Concepts this Weekend!

Mazda is recalling CX-90 three-row crossover SUVs because of a software problem that could prevent the engine from restarting when the engine stop-start system is used. The CX-90 is available with mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains, but this recall only involves 2024 mild-hybrid models, encompassing 38,926 vehicles in total. The mild...

Cadillac Vistiq revealed as brand's “globally sized” electric three-row SUV Vistiq comes standard with 615 hp and 102 kwh Pricing starts at $78,790, including destination Cadillac's expansion of its electric vehicle lineup continues with the arrival of the 2026 Vistiq, a midsize SUV with third-row seats designed to fill the gap between...

Mazda issued two more recalls for the CX-90, and the CX-70 joins recall list One issue stems from an inverter software issue while the other has do to with faulty software in the dashboard New software is the fix for both issues Mazda is recalling CX-90 and CX-70 crossover SUVs for two separate software-related issues. One could cause loss of...

Kuwait has extended the shelf-life limit of chilled vacuum-packed beef from 90 days to 120 days.

LG's 55-inch B3 OLED TV normally retails for $1,199. As of Nov. 12, it's on sale for $798 as part of Walmart's early Black Friday sale.

Disney+'s 2025 slate also includes new seasons of 'Andor' and 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians,' and originals like 'Chad Powers.'

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

Check here each week to keep up with the latest from John MacArthur's pulpit at Grace Community Church.

N'DJAMENA — Boko Haram insurgents killed 17 Chadian soldiers in a weekend attack on a military post that also left 96 of the assailants dead in the country's west, Chad's army said. The attack in the Lake Chad region happened on Saturday, army spokesperson Gen. Issakh Acheikh said on national television Sunday night. He did not provide details. The Lake Chad region has been plagued this year by frequent attacks from insurgents, including Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa. It has revived fears of violence after a period of peace following a successful operation launched in 2020 by the Chadian army to destroy the extremist groups' bases. Last month, 40 soldiers were killed during an attack on a military base, prompting President Mahamat Deby Itno to launch an operation to dislodge Boko Haram militants from Lake Chad. In March, an attack the government blamed on Boko Haram killed seven soldiers. Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency more than a decade ago against Western education, seeks to establish Islamic law in Nigeria’s northeast. The insurgency has spread to West African neighbors including Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Chad, a country of nearly 18 million people, has been reeling from political turmoil before and after a controversial presidential election that resulted in Deby Itno’s victory. He had led the country as interim president during the period of military rule that followed the death of his father in 2021.

Expert: Western Public Health Authorities’ Communication Missteps in Dealing with COVID Led to Public Mistrust Expert: Western Public Health Authorities’ Communication Missteps in Dealing with COVID Led to Public Mistrust

A lawyer and two other persons have been killed and several others injured as an articulated truck conveying large consignments of flour rammed into shops at Utu Etim Ekpo, headquarters of Etim Ekpo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, PUNCH Metro learnt on Tuesday. Our correspondent gathered that a woman, whose two legs were

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A soldier for Yemen's exiled government opened fire on Saudi troops as they exercised in eastern Yemen, killing two of them and wounding another in a rare insider attack during the kingdom's nearly decadelong war there, officials said Saturday. The assault in eastern Hadramawt province comes as a yearslong cease-fire between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi rebels largely has held despite the militants' ongoing attacks against shipping in the Red Sea corridor. While the Houthis did not claim the attack, at least one Houthi official praised it as being "the beginning and an indication of a harsh future awaiting the invaders." Meanwhile, U.S. warplanes carried out new strikes targeting Houthi positions that lasted into early Sunday morning, the American military said. The strikes come after the militants likely shot down yet-another American reconnaissance drone over the country. The attack on the Saudi troops took place Friday night in Seiyun, a city some 500 kilometers east of Sanaa. As troops worked out at a Saudi-led base there, the soldier opened fire, killing an officer and a noncommissioned officer, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said, citing a military statement. "The Joint Forces Command underscores that this 'Lone Wolf' cowardly attack does not represent the honorable members of the Yemeni Ministry of Defense," the statement added. The dead and the other wounded Saudi solider have been brought back to the kingdom, it added. Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the leader of Yemen's successionist Southern Transitional Council, identified the soldier who carried out the attack as belonging to the First Military Region, which is based out of Seiyun. Police in the area published pictures of the soldier, saying there was a 30-million-Yemeni-rial reward for information leading to the soldier's arrest. That's worth around $15,000 on the black market. Authorities offered no motive for the attack. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the militant group's Yemen branch, long has operated around Hadramawt. However, the group did not immediately claim the attack. A recent United Nations expert report has said that the al-Qaida group and the Houthis have begun to "coordinate operations directly with each other." The Houthis meanwhile did not claim the attack either. However, Houthi official Hamid Rizq praised the attack in a message on the social platform X, claiming it came from "the feeling of oppression" over Saudi troops being stationed in the area. "The heroic operation is the beginning and an indication of a harsh future awaiting the invaders," Rizq wrote. Yemen has been mired in a decadelong war since the Houthis swept into Sanaa from their northern strongholds in September 2014. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war on behalf of Yemen's exiled government in 2015. The war further internationalized, with Iran backing the Houthis with weapons and support that cemented the conflict into a yearslong stalemate. The war has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more. A cease-fire that expired in October 2022 largely has held in the time since, however, even as the Houthis have seized on the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel's invasion of Lebanon. On Saturday night, Houthi-run media reported U.S. airstrikes targeting areas around Sanaa. The airstrikes continued into Sunday morning and also included sites in Amran province just outside of the capital, the Houthis said. The rebels offered no immediate damage assessment from the strikes. The U.S. military later told The Associated Press on Sunday it conducted airstrikes "on numerous Iran-backed Houthi weapons storage facilities within Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen." It described the sites as housing advanced conventional weapons used to target military and civilian ships in the Red Sea corridor but offered no other immediate details. The U.S. military has targeted radar stations, military bases and drone and missile launch sites since beginning its ongoing airstrike campaign against the Houthis in January. 

Some people may have been killed as a powerful explosion on Tuesday, rocked the city of Jos, the Plateau State capital, sending shockwaves through surrounding communities. Witnesses said the blast occurred around 10:30 am near the densely populated Terminus market area. Initial reports indicate that several people were injured in the blast, with some sources […]

The post JUST IN: Residents feared killed as explosion rocks Jos first appeared on Business Hallmark.

stockholm — A Swedish Eritrean journalist held incommunicado without charge in Eritrea for more than 23 years won a Swedish rights prize on Monday for his fight for freedom of expression, the jury said. Dawit Isaak was among a group of around two dozen people, including senior cabinet ministers, members of parliament and independent journalists, who were seized in a purge in September 2001. He was awarded the Edelstam Prize "for his outstanding contribution and exceptional courage in standing up for freedom of expression, one's beliefs, and in the defense of human rights," the Edelstam Foundation said in a statement. Amnesty International considers Isaak a prisoner of conscience, and press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says he and his colleagues detained at the same time are the longest-held journalists in the world. U.N. rights experts have demanded Asmara immediately release him. Eritrea has provided no news about him, and there are fears he may no longer even be alive. He would be 60 years old. His daughter Betlehem Isaak will accept the award on his behalf in Stockholm on November 19. Isaak fled to Sweden in 1987 during Eritrea's struggle against Ethiopia, which eventually led to independence in 1993. After obtaining Swedish citizenship, he returned to Eritrea in 2001 to help shape the media landscape, and co-founded Setit, the country's first independent newspaper. He was arrested shortly after the paper published articles demanding political reforms. Asmara has not provided any information about his whereabouts or health over the years, which U.N. experts in 2021 deemed "extremely concerning.” But they said a credible source had indicated Isaak was still alive in September 2020. The Edelstam Prize is awarded in memory of Swedish diplomat Harald Edelstam, who as ambassador to Chile at the time of Augusto Pinochet's 1973 military coup granted thousands of Chileans and other Latin Americans safe conduct to, and political asylum in, Sweden.

The promised global shift from fossil fuels remains unmet as fossil fuel continues to expand in Southeast Asia with the backing of international financiers, environmental groups said.