News Article
TSMC Unveils design ecosystem
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) unveils an extensive 65nm DFM Compliance Design Support Ecosystem that's driven by a manufacturing-based unified data format to channel design-for-manufacturing (DFM) capabilities through selected electronic design automation (EDA) tools directly to designers' workstations.
TSMC developed the unified format to align DFM tools -- Lithography Process Check (LPC), Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) Analysis and Critical Area Analysis (CAA) -- to TSMC's manufacturing data format. This allows designers to use the same DFM data file irrespective of the tool or vendor. It also enables simplified use, management and updates to DFM analyses using these tools. Designers can download an encrypted TSMC DFM Data Kit (DDK), compiled in the DUF format, and run TSMC-qualified DFM tools directly on their workstations, with results that are consistent with the company's own internal DFM results. The Ecosystem results from a year-long collaboration between TSMC and its design partners to shorten the 65nm design cycle and accelerate time-to-volume and time-to-market for leading-edge products. "This is a comprehensive collaboration to deliver 65nm DFM-compliant products and design services to the designer's desk top," said Edward Wan, Senior Director of Design services marketing for TSMC. "Basically, we've defined what it means to be DFM compliant, and we've helped our Ecosystem partners to achieve that compliance."