New Release Of Mentor Graphics Simulator Delivers Critical Enhancements For Design Of Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits
WILSONVILLE, Ore. - August 14, 2000 - Mentor Graphics Corporation today announced a new release of its transistor-level radio frequency (RF) integrated circuit (IC) simulator, Eldo? RF. The new version provides accurate phase-noise analysis and also supports the analysis of oscillators, voltage-controlled oscillators and frequency dividers, which are the building blocks of RF transceivers in all wireless communication devices. The phase-noise analysis feature of Eldo RF enables designers to meet the crucial time-to-market deadlines of the wireless industry by avoiding multiple iterations when verifying a radio frequency integrated circuit design.
Inaccurate phase-noise prediction produces corrupted frequency signals, which can reduce performance or even cause a complete failure of a transceiver design. Eldo RF accurately predicts the level of the phase noise density both close to and far from the carrier, providing a designer with the information necessary to create a consistent frequency, thus eliminating the noise from an RF design. Operating at the transistor level with standard Eldo device models enables Eldo RF to provide RF IC designers with unparalleled accuracy and performance in simulating the most complex RF IC designs.
"With Eldo RF, a designer no longer needs to use the trial and error method of measuring noise levels, which was accomplished with multiple iterations," said Jue-Hsien Chern, vice president and general manager for the Deep Submicron (DSM) division of Mentor Graphics? "By enabling RF IC designers to accurately predict phase-noise levels, Eldo RF reduces their time-to-market and overall costs."
The third-generation Harmonic Balance simulation algorithms implemented in Eldo RF are capable of handling verification of large RF ICs, often in minutes rather than hours or days. This increased capacity and speed, compared to traditional SPICE and RF simulators, is crucial as IC design complexities increase.
Eldo RF also features all standard RF measurements such as harmonic distortion, conversion gain, image rejection, feed through and isolation analysis, 1dB compression points, intermodulation products, nth order intercept points, power added efficiency and noise figure. One of the major benefits of the frequency-domain formulation used in Eldo RF is the ability to efficiently handle large signal multi-tone inputs, particularly the case of close interferers for intermodulation prediction. This capability allows the user to setup the inputs with no constraints, regarding the number of tones or their relative spacing.
Eldo RF is driven with a standard SPICE netlist, so it can be used within standard IC design flows. The tool can be integrated into Mentor's Design Architect? IC, Cadence's Affirma Analog Artist environment and other common design flows. Simulation setup, netlisting and output processing with cross-probing are fully supported, as well.
An extension of the prominent Eldo circuit simulator, Eldo RF is part of the Mentor's comprehensive solution for the unique challenges of Analog/Mixed Signal and DSM designs. Mentor's best-in-class technologies allow circuit designers to verify the functionality and performance of very large and complex designs quickly and with confidence, while avoiding long verification cycles, excessive iterations and expensive silicon turns.
About Mentor Graphics
Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products and consulting services for the world's largest electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of more than $500 million and employs approximately 2,600 people worldwide. Company headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. World Wide Web site: www.mentor.com.
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Mentor Graphics and Design Architect are registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. Eldo is a trademark of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company and/or product names are the trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
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| Jim Edgerton Mentor Graphics 503.685.1390 james_edgerton@mentor.com | Public Relations Contact Luis Lorenzana Benjamin Group/BSMG Worldwide 415.352.2628 x617 luis_lorenzana@benjamingroup.com |