| AUSTIN, Texas, –
November 3, 2004 – Silicon Integration
Initiative (Si2) today announced the immediate
availability of the version 2.2 release of the
OpenAccess™ specification and reference
implementation source code to Si2 member
companies. The new release includes significant
technology improvements defined by the OpenAccess
coalition change team, enabling further adoption
by both in-house and commercial tool providers.
The new improvements extend the OpenAccess data
model support further into digital design as well
as manufacturing, providing significant levels of
maturity and completeness.
"The Coalition is delivering a production-ready
industry standard and reference implementation
that will act as the base of the EDA industry for
90nm and beyond," said Steve Schulz, president and
CEO of Si2. "With the 2.2 release we have a solid
system that is providing a design foundation to
many different companies. The interest in this
release leads us to believe that we will see
broad, rapid adoption by both end-user and
vendors. We fully expect tools using it to appear
on the market before year end. As the System
Integrator, Cadence Design Systems has delivered a
solid release as proven by a very successful beta
program."
The latest version of the OpenAccess platform
includes a comprehensive set of technology
enhancements, including key user-defined
improvements to the embedded module hierarchy
feature initially introduced in version 2.1. This
unique feature expands the scope of the OpenAccess
platform further into the digital design tool
domain requiring both physical and logical data
representation. New database support for wafer
data also provides a step towards establishing
strong links between design and manufacturing by
eliminating the need for GDSII stream file format
for creation of reticle and wafer views.
"As members of the OpenAccess Design Data
Management Working Group and OpenAccess Change
Team, we are proud to be part of a coalition on
the verge of enabling unparalleled performance and
robustness for our data management users of
OpenAccess-based applications. OpenAccess 2.2
delivers a new API, which connects OpenAccess
applications directly to data management tools,
such as MatrixOne's DesignSync," commented Mitch
Mastellone, CTO and vice president of strategy for
MatrixOne's Global Electronics Business Unit. "We
are pleased to have completed the beta testing of
this new API and are looking forward to
commercially supporting an interface to it;
MatrixOne remains fully committed to supporting
the OpenAccess platform's interoperability
initiatives."
OpenAccess version 2.2 also includes integrated
design data management (DDM), increased
performance and capacity, explicit support for
45-degree routing segments to enable X-routing, a
generalized design constraints mechanism to handle
upcoming 65nm manufacturing requirements, a
plug-in architecture used to extend functionality
by third parties, and additional translators and
TCL interface support. In addition, as announced
in February 2004, OpenAccess version 2.2 has a
Milkyway-to-OpenAccess interface, which allows for
fast and efficient import of Milkyway ® design
data into OpenAccess designs.
"Based on our beta test experience with the
version 2.2 release, we are very pleased with both
performance and quality of results," said Scott
Peterson, director of RapidChip Methodology at LSI
Logic. "We plan to quickly integrate it in our
RapidChip flows. This release should enable
additional capabilities with the improved embedded
module hierarchy features, and deliver increased
performance and functionality to our customers."
The OpenAccess version 2.2 specification is
available now. The reference implementation
availability is currently limited to Si2 member
companies and will be available to non-member
companies in June 2005. Additional information on
the OpenAccess 2.2 Release will be provided at the
OpenAccess Developers' Forum on November 11 at the
DoubleTree Hotel in San Jose, see www.si2.org for
more information on the Forum as well as technical
details regarding the new features and benefits of
OpenAccess Release version 2.2.
About OpenAccess Initiative
The OpenAccess Coalition is a community-driven
initiative formed to enable the creation of
tightly integrated flows involving best-in-class
commercial and proprietary tools and intellectual
property (IP), necessary to support design of
today's complex chips. This is done through an
open standard data access interface (API) and
reference database implementation supporting that
API. Leading electronics companies with
significant investment in CAD tools and
infrastructure, as well as many commercial
Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tool providers,
have embraced the OpenAccess initiative as a means
to support rapid product development. The
OpenAccess Coalition operates under the governance
and bylaws of Si2. Si2 is a not-for-profit
organization of 62 industry-leading semiconductor
and EDA tool companies focused on improving
productivity and reducing cost in creating and
producing integrated silicon systems. For more
information about OpenAccess and Si2, visit
www.si2.org.
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