Artisan offers libraries for latest TSMC process

Artisan offers libraries for latest TSMC process
By Michael Santarini, EE Times
September 18, 2000 (10:22 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20000918S0012

Artisan Components Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.) has announced it has signed a license agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to develop library products for TSMC's 0.13-micron process technology.

According to Artisan, the agreement provides Artisan's customers with a unified library road map for multiple process generations including 0.25, 0.22, 0.18, 0.15 micron and now 0.13 micron.

Under the terms of the agreement, Artisan will develop a complete set of physical libraries including SAGE-X standard cells and RAM, register file, and ROM generators optimized for TSMC's latest process technology.

The company said all the Artisan libraries are available under Artisan's free library program in cooperation with TSMC's library partner programs.

The libraries can be downloaded along with TSMC-optimized 0.25-, 0.18- and 0.22-micron libraries at Artisan's Web site at www.a rtisan.com.

The company said all of its TSMC-optimized libraries are fully compliant with TSMC's design rules and have been characterized using TSMC's latest electrical models.

Artisan also announced the immediate availability of its TSMC-optimized, 0.15-micron libraries.

---

Virage Logic (Fremont, Calif.) has announced a low-voltage Custom-Touch ASAP line of compilers for embedded memories that simultaneously consumes low power while operating at low voltages.

According to the company, the embedded memory compilers are optimized for operation at 1.2 volts plus/minus 10 percent on the 0.18-micron TSMC Mainstream process and are also functional down to 0.9 V.

The new product is an addition to Virage Logic's existing Custom-Touch ASAP family of memory compilers that runs at 1.8 V.

The company said the architecture allows Virage Logic to address the growing demand for battery-powered, portable devices such as laptop computers, personal digital assist ants, cell phone handsets and hearing aids that require a battery life with longer periods of operation.

To achieve reliable timing when operating at low voltages, Virage Logic developed proprietary technology called TimeKeeper-a reference timing circuitry that gates the control signals to the sense amplifiers and ensures that the timing paths operate accurately under all conditions.

Without TimeKeeper technology, said the company, this delay would be unable to track memory size, voltage, temperature and process variations.

The company said the low-voltage Custom-Touch ASAP memory compilers are silicon-proven. Prices for the compilers start at $165,000 for a single node-locked license.

The company said although ASAP LV was implemented on TSMC's Mainstream process first, it can operate on TSMC's LV and LP processes. Virage Logic anticipates bringing the ASAP LV family of embedded memories out on other foundries. Visit www.viragelogic.com< /A> for more information.