ANAHEIM, Calif., June 9, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Magma(r) Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA), a provider of chip design software, announced today that ClearSpeed Technology completed a 90-nanometer (nm) design using Hydra(tm), Magma's new automated floorplan synthesis and hierarchical design planning product.
ClearSpeed, noted for delivering power-efficient, high-performance processors, used Hydra to design a processor for massively parallel compute applications in scientific, financial and embedded markets. One of the panels of the multicore chip contains 3.6 million standard cells and nearly 500 hard macros.
Hydra's intuitive, auto-interactive capabilities enabled ClearSpeed to develop a final floorplan more quickly. Using Magma's Relative Floorplanning Constraints(tm), the designers were able maintain the placement of associated objects and specify which parts of the floorplan to maintain while continuing to optimize the rest.
ClearSpeed has long partnered with Magma on 130- and 90-nm processor designs. ClearSpeed has already begun using Hydra its next-generation processor that will be implemented in 45-nm technology. With Hydra's black-box technology, the designers have been able to start making decisions on the floorplan of this 30-million cell design using just the top-level netlist. ClearSpeed will complete the design using the entire Magma Talus(r) IC implementation suite and Quartz(tm) timing and extraction software for sign-off.
"Our guiding principle is to deliver high-performance, highly reliable and power-efficient systems," said Simon Bewick, director of Hardware at ClearSpeed. "By collaborating with Magma to define next-generation tools, we consistently achieve first-time success with our processor designs. The Hydra automated technology has increased our designers' productivity by enabling rapid prototyping on very large designs -- starting from auto-interactive shaping and macro placement to budgeting. Hydra has also enabled us to start design planning very early in the design cycle."
"Leading-edge design firms such as ClearSpeed have enabled Magma to maintain its technological position within the industry," said Kam Kittrell, general manager of Magma's Design Implementation Business Unit. "With its valuable feedback, we are able to continue to produce a line of superior tools that now include Hydra."
Hydra can be used in third-party flows or integrated with Magma's Talus IC implementation system. Used in conjunction with Talus Design or Talus Vortex, Hydra offers seamless integration from prototyping to implementation within the same data model. Hydra is seamlessly integrated with RioMagic(tm), Magma's package-aware chip planning solution, enabling early I/O planning and placement tradeoffs for both peripheral and flip-chip packages and full-chip DRC-clean 45-degree redistribution layer (RDL) routing.
About Magma
Magma's software for designing integrated circuits (ICs) is used to create complex, high-performance chips required in cellular telephones, electronic games, WiFi, MP3 players, DVD/digital video, networking, automotive electronics and other electronic applications. Magma's EDA software for IC implementation, analysis, physical verification, circuit simulation and characterization is recognized as embodying the best in semiconductor technology, enabling the world's top chip companies to "Design Ahead of the Curve"(tm) while reducing design time and costs. Magma is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with offices around the world. Magma's stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Visit Magma Design Automation on the Web at www.magma-da.com.
Magma and Talus are registered trademarks, and "Design Ahead of the Curve," Hydra, Relative Floorplan Constraints and RioMagic are trademarks of Magma Design Automation Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Forward-looking Statements:
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements the Hyrda enables development of floorplans earlier than other solutions and increases designer productivity; that ClearSpeed will use Magma software for its next-generation processor; and about the features and benefits of Magma's software are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including but not limited to the ability of Magma's products to produce the desired results, the company's ability to keep pace with rapidly changing technology and ClearSpeed's decision to continue using the Magma software. Further discussion of these and other potential risk factors may be found in Magma's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov). The company undertakes no additional obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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