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What is NanoSim?
NanoSim® is an advanced fast circuit simulator for analog, high-performance digital and mixed-signal circuit simulation, featuring common HSPICE models for greater accuracy. NanoSim® provides an unparalleled combination of timing and power diagnostic functions needed to efficiently analyze today’s nanometer IC designs. NanoSim offers tight integration with the industry-leading Verilog simulator VCS to address verification challenges at different levels of abstraction -- RT, gate and transistor level — and enable mixed-signal SoC verification. NanoSim and VCS supports Verilog-AMS/Verilog-A, the industry-standard analog behavioral modeling language, enabling mixed-level and mixed-language verification of full-chip designs. NanoSim is also tightly integrated with Star-RCXT to provide efficient post-layout simulation.
- Who uses NanoSim?
Analog and custom circuit designers looking to improve circuit simulation for accelerated simulation performance should use NanoSim. Many designers have taken a wide variety of applications to the market like microprocessors, DSPs, ADCs, PLLs, DRAM, SRAM and Flash memories using NanoSim as the preferred circuit simulator. Below are a few examples of how NanoSim was used by the customers:
- Texas Instrucments – NanoSim & VCS
- STMicroelectronics - NanoSim
- Infineon – NanoSim
- AMD – NanoSim & VCS
- What benefits does NanoSim provide in my design flow?
Following are the key benefits of using NanoSim in your design flow:
- Trim weeks off design cycles with full chip simulation of large designs with millions of transistor.
- Speed-up simulation by using multiple-level of abstractions, combining blocks defined in Verilog, SPICE, “C” models, Verilog-A and Verilog-AMS.
- Boost performance of timing critical elements using detailed timing analysis features.
- Optimize designs for power consumption using comprehensive power diagnostics.
- Verify impact of parasitics on timing critical blocks using direct back annotation for RC.
- What are the key features of NanoSim?
NanoSim offers the following key features:
- Orders of magnitude faster and higher capacity than standard SPICE
- Multi-level, mixed-signal SoC verification capability with VCS integration and support for
Verilog-AMS/Verilog-A
- Simultaneous power & timing analysis and diagnostics
- Using HSPICE device models for greater accuracy
- Extracted power net simulation
What level of accuracy can I get with NanoSim vs. SPICE?
NanoSim can handle a wide range of analog designs such as VCO, PLS, ADC etc. It provides accuracy within 2-5% of HSPICE.
Can I use NanoSim for post-layout verification?
NanoSim has the capacity to handle large amount of parasitic data for post-layout verification of your designs. Additionally, its tight interface with Star-RCXT enables Selective Net Extraction and Back Annotation providing an order of magnitude performance improvement over a flat parasitic extraction flow.
Will I have to change my existing SPICE based flow to fit NanoSim? Will NanoSim replace my SPICE tool?
NanoSim can fit in almost any SPICE flow, with its built-in support for a wide range of proprietary and commercial SPICE formats such as Spectre and ELDO. It can directly read in your native SPICE netlist and models such as BSIM4, BSIM3, BSIMSOI, PSP, HVMOS, and HiCUM to name a few.
Is NanoSim integrated with any custom design environment, such as Analog Artist (ADE) from Cadence?
NanoSim is integrated with the Cadence ADE environment using the OASIS interface. This integration allows you to run NanoSim from Analog Artist and supports cross-probing and back annotation into the Cadence environment.
Can I run NanoSim or NanoSim-VCS from within the Cadence Virtuoso Schematic Editor Environment?
Yes, the Discovery AMS Simulation Interface (SimIF) is integrated with the Cadence® Virtuoso® Schematic Editor. This integration provides a link between the Cadence schematic and the Synopsys simulation flow, enabling you to simulate pure analog (transistor) and mixed-signal designs from the same environment. You can run NanoSim, NanoSim-VCS (NS-VCS), and HSPICE within the Cadence Design Environment.
Is VCS included with NanoSim?
VCS is not included with NanoSim. The NanoSim integration with VCS, which is an essential feature in NanoSim, enables it to work seamlessly with VCS. VCS must be purchased separately.
- What platform is NanoSim available on?
NanoSim is available on
- Sparc-Solaris: 32-bit, 64-bit
- LINUX: x86 RHEL 32-bit, x86_64 RHEL 64-bit, x86_SUSE 32-bit, x86_64 SUSE 64-bit, IPF RHEL 64-bit
- PA_RISC-HP-UX: 32-bit, 64-bit
- RS6000_AIX: 32-bit, 64-bit
What is the release status of NanoSim?
The latest NanoSim release version is 2007.03 available since March, 2007. The next release is 2007.12 scheduled for December, 2007
How much does NanoSim cost?
Please contact your Synopsys sales representative for NanoSim pricing information.
Where can I get more information on NanoSim?
For more information, please visit NanoSim product page.
Marketing Contact:
Ken Hsieh, Product Marketing Manager
Phone: (650) 584-5061
Email: khsieh@synopsys.com
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