EiC Corporation Announces Volume Delivery of Gain Blocks
Agilent Technologies and IBM Collaborate On Silicon Germanium SoftwareDesign Kit
October 12, 1999
PALO ALTO, Calif. Agilent Technologies, a new company formed from therealignment of Hewlett-Packard Company, and IBM today announced a cooperative effort to speed the development of integrated circuits (ICs)used in communications products such as mobile phones.
The two companies have collaborated on a design kit to enable HP s AdvancedDesign System (ADS)(1) software, which is widely used in radio frequency(RF) and mixed-signal circuit development, to work with IBM s silicongermanium (SiGe) technology -- a process optimized for developing chips that can offer the high performance and the low power consumption requiredby communications gear.
"Today s IC designers are under intense pressure to bring their products tomarket, demanding accurate prediction of the performance of their designsto eliminate the need for prototypes," said Jake Egbert, general manager ofAgilent s EEsof electronic design automation (EDA) product group. "Theyneed accurate, fast simulators and good RF models for the semiconductor foundry processes they have selected. Our work with IBM provides ourcustomers with access to this combination of leading-edge simulation and ICprocess technology that will help them achieve their performance andtime-to-market objectives."
By providing accurate, state-of-the-art design models for chips based onIBM s SiGe technology, the kit is expected to enable designers to producehigh-performance communications chips via a shorter development cycle.
"Our customers demand a complete menu of design and manufacturing resourcesin order to take full advantage of IBM s advanced process technologies,such as SiGe," said Michael Concannon, vice president of wireless communications at IBM Microelectronics. "By offering a specialized designkit that works with HP s ADS software, we can enable customers to quicklydevelop and differentiate semiconductor products for communicationsapplications."
IBM s SiGe is a process technology in which the standard silicon-integratedcircuit base is augmented with germanium to make the chips operate muchfaster with decreased power consumption. SiGe chips can be designed for usein a range of wired and wireless products, boosting the performance whilereducing the size and power usage of these products. In addition, SiGeprovides increased integration capabilities, enabling designers to buildchips with more functions.
Since its introduction in October 1998, IBM s SiGe technology has beenadopted by a wide range of companies for a variety of applications,including RF components in cellular handsets and transmitter and receiverchipsets used in high-speed fibre-optic phone lines.
About HP Advanced Design System
HP s Advanced Design System, which is developed and marketed by Agilent sEEsof EDA product group, is a complete set of design technologies thatprovides an integrated, end-to-end communication signal-path-designsolution to developers of such products as cellular and portable phones,pagers, wireless networks, and radar and satellite communications systems.The Advanced Design System includes leading-edge RF, analog, DSP, photonicand electromagnetic tools integrated with accurate models. Web via http://hp.com/go/hpeesof.
(1) This product will be available from Agilent Technologies beginning Nov.1, 1999.
CONTACT: HPElisabeth Kannow,
818/879-6440
elisabeth_kannow@hp.com
CMC Public Relations for HP Caroline Melnicoff,
650/327-8213
cpm1@earthlink.net
IBMChris Andrews,
914/892-5389
candrews@us.ibm.com
elisabeth_kannow@hp.com
CMC Public Relations for HP Caroline Melnicoff,
650/327-8213
cpm1@earthlink.net
IBMChris Andrews, 914/892-5389
candrews@us.ibm.com
E-mail: candrews@us.ibm.com
Web site: http://hp.com/go/hpeesof
