Analog/Custom Design

Virtuoso Studio IC25.1 ISR7 Now Available

2026-07-29T20:20:00Z

Virtuoso Studio IC25.1 ISR7 production release is now available for download.(read more)

From Layout to Silicon: Mastering Parasitic Extraction with the Quantus Training

2026-07-28T10:29:00Z

From fundamentals to advanced nodes, discover how Quantus training helps VLSI engineers achieve silicon-accurate extraction.(read more)

Using Reliability Degradation Parameters to Drive Better Design Choices

2026-07-22T09:11:00Z

A circuit can look perfect on day one and still drift out of specification after months or years of electrical and thermal stress. That is the reliability problem in a nutshell: the design does not only need to work when devices are fresh; the design must continue to meet performance expectations as devices age.

A useful real-life analogy is a new car engine. A day-one test tells whether the engine runs today, but a reliability-minded test asks: how does the engine behave after heat, load, vibration, and years of use?

In ADE Assembler or Artist, reliability degradation parameters play a similar role: they help translate stress and aging data into measurable design signals, so users can decide whether the circuit still meets reliability expectations.

Why Reliability Degradation Parameters Are Needed

Reliability analysis is needed because degradation mechanisms such as Hot Carrier Injection (HCI), Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI), Positive Bias Temperature Instability (PBTI), and self-heating can shift circuit behavior over time.

A fresh simulation shows the circuit at age = 0, while an aged simulation shows how the circuit behaves after degradation has been applied.

The key value of reliability degradation parameters is that they allow the designer to connect stress information to aged behavior.

Instead of only seeing whether the fresh design passes, the user can evaluate whether the design remains robust after stress-induced degradation.

What Adding Reliability Degradation Parameters Does

Adding reliability degradation parameters in the output setup pane using the relxexpr expression helps extract meaningful measurements from reliability reports.

Rather than manually searching through large report files, the user can fetch maximum, minimum, or count-based values for degradation-related fields.

Max: Find the worst-case value of a reliability parameter, such as maximum d_Vthsat.
Min: Find the minimum value of a reliability parameter, such as minimum trise in a filtered report.
Count: Count the number of devices or entries that violate a defined threshold.

Where This Fits in the ADE Reliability Workflow

The complete workflow starts with setting up reliability analysis, configuring fresh, stress, and aged tests, generating degradation reports, and then adding relxexpr outputs to evaluate design-level reliability metrics.

Step 1: Create the Reliability Setup

In ADE Assembler or Artist, create a reliability setup from the data view pane. The setup defines the analysis name and the Fresh, Stress, and Aged testbenches.

Step 2: Configure Fresh, Stress, and Aged Tests

Fresh simulation represents the no-degradation condition. Stress simulation generates degradation information. Aged simulation applies that degradation to evaluate post-stress circuit behavior.

Step 3: Set Reliability Options

Configure the reliability options needed for aging, modeling, degradation output, and report generation.

Step 4: Generate Reliability Reports

Reliability analysis can generate reports such as device characteristics degradation, device lifetime degradation, model parameter change, and self-heating results.

Step 5: Add a Reliability Expression Output

In the outputs setup tab, select Add new output → <testName> → Reliability expression. A new output row is added with output type set to relxexpr.

Step 6: Define the relxexpr Details

Double-click the details column and select the operation, field, and report. The operation can be max, min, or count. The field can be a report parameter such as d_Vthsat or trise. The report is the reliability report on which the operation is applied.

Step 7: Add a Specification

Use the Spec column to define the acceptable limit for the reliability expression. This enables pass/fail evaluation.

Step 8: Run or Re-evaluate Results

Run the simulation or re-evaluate an existing simulated history to populate the reliability expression values across sweeps and corners.

Viewing Results

After relxexpr expressions are defined in the output setup pane, the detail results view shows values for each reliability expression across sweeps and corners.

Users can click values to view the corresponding reliability report, making it easier to move from a summary metric to the detailed device-level data behind it.

Fresh outputs can appear disabled because no aging is applied in the fresh stage.
Stress outputs are fetched based on the defined relxexpr expressions.
Age outputs show values based on the defined relxexpr expressions after degradation is applied.
When a specification is assigned, each expression can be evaluated as pass or fail.

How This Helps the User

Faster failure triage: Users can identify maximum degradation, minimum margins, or violation counts without manually inspecting every report.
Clear pass/fail visibility: Specifications turn raw reliability values into actionable pass/fail indicators.
Better comparison across sweeps and corners: Reliability expressions make it easier to compare degradation behavior across design conditions.
Improved design confidence: The user can evaluate whether the design continues to meet reliability expectations after stress and aging effects are considered.
More useful thermal-aging insight: Expressions such as Max trise on Self-heating result help users quantify thermal behavior alongside device degradation.

Conclusion

Adding reliability degradation parameters in ADE Assembler or Artist is needed because modern IC reliability cannot be judged from fresh simulation alone.

By using relxexpr in the output setup pane, users can extract maximum, minimum, or count-based metrics from reliability reports, apply specifications, and evaluate pass/fail outcomes across sweeps and corners.

In short, reliability degradation parameters help transform reliability reports into design decisions!

Watch and Learn: Demo Video on Reliability Degradation Parameters!

To understand more about reliability degradation parameters, you can watch a small training bye video which shows this in action.

Working with Reliability Degradation Parameters using relxexpr (Video)

Look at our Training Bytes video channel that offers many helpful videos on how to run reliability analysis in Virtuoso Studio. All the related videos are linked together in a channel, so that you can easily access and watch, as many as you like.

Reliability Analysis in Virtuoso Studio (Video Channel)

Training Spotlight: Reliability Analysis in Virtuoso Studio

These concepts are covered in depth in the Reliability Analysis in Virtuoso Studio customer education course.

For the lecture, lab instructions, and a downloadable design, enroll in the online training courses of your interest on Reliability Analysis in Virtuoso Studio Training. Training is also available as a "Blended" or "live" class.

Digital Badge Available

You can become Cadence Certified once you complete the course (s) and share your knowledge and certifications on social media channels. Go straight to the course exam at the Cadence ASK and Learning portal.

Note: Some of the above links are accessible only to Cadence customers who have a valid login ID for the Cadence ASK and Learning portal.

The faster you finish your online training, the sooner you can claim your Digital Badge. Want to know how accelerated learning works? Our video walks you through the pre-quiz, navigation, and essential features. This is just the beginning. We're regularly adding new Accelerated Learning titles. Accelerated Learning courses are marked with this symbol in our Learning Maps.

Don't have an ASK account yet, some conceptual videos are even available on YouTube!

Explore the Cadence Customer Education Training Bytes and our YouTube Shorts for more videos.

Do You Have Access to the Cadence ASK Portal?

To find information on how to get an account on the Cadence ASK – Learning portal, check the Cadence ASK – Application Support and Knowledge page.

To stay up to date with the latest news and information about Cadence training and webinars, subscribe to the Cadence Training emails.

Cadence Customer Education Learning Maps provide a comprehensive visual overview of the learning opportunities for Cadence customers. Click on Learning Map to see all our courses in each technology area and the recommended order in which to take them. Wondering how to take an online class at your own pace? Come join us and learn from the Cadence Training offerings.

If you have questions about courses, schedules, online, public, or live on-site training, reach out to us at Cadence Training.

Related Resources

Happy reading!

Niyati Singh

Smart Corners Analysis Helps You Focus on the Conditions That Matter the Most!

2026-07-16T08:25:00Z

Imagine you are designing a precision analog block targeted for a high‑volume product. Your schematic looks clean, specifications pass across nominal conditions, and traditional PVT corners seem well covered. Yet, late in the design cycle, unexpected yield loss appears—not at obvious corners, but at rare combinations of process and mismatch variation that were never explicitly simulated.

This is the reality of modern silicon variability.

As process nodes shrink and performance margins tighten, rare statistical outliers—not nominal corners—often determine yield. This is where Spectre Fast Monte Carlo (FMC) Analysis’ Smart Corners fundamentally changes how designers think about variation analysis.

Delivered through Virtuoso ADE Artist, Smart Corners leverages AI‑assisted techniques to find statistically derived worst‑case corners, enabling designers to detect rare failures, estimate yield accurately, and improve robustness—without the prohibitive cost of brute‑force Monte Carlo simulations.

The Problem with “Corner Anxiety”

Every analog designer knows the feeling. You run simulations at nominal corners, everything looks beautiful. You run SS and FF corners, still okay. Then someone asks: “But what about the real worst case?” Cue the corner anxiety.

Modern silicon variability doesn’t always show up where we expect it. That’s why Cadence introduced Spectre FMC Analysis to make statistical variation analysis faster and more practical. And sitting right on top of that capability is a powerful idea called Smart Corners.

Smart Corners help designers stop guessing and start listening to the data, all inside Virtuoso ADE Artist, where simulation results turn into real insight rather than simulation fatigue.

What Makes Smart Corners “Smart”?

Smart Corners help to make statistical variation analysis more efficient and insightful. Smart Corners begins with the process, voltage, temperature (PVT), and design parameter combinations already defined by the designer. Spectre FMC then performs statistical analysis across these conditions and identifies groups of corners that exhibit similar behaviour.

By classifying and prioritizing existing simulation conditions according to their statistical impact, Smart Corners leverages computational effort on the classifications, quickly identifying those that fail to meet performance requirements and risk yield.

In traditional corner analysis:

Designers define numerous PVT combinations to improve coverage
Many corners provide overlapping information
Simulation cost grows rapidly as coverage expands
Identifying the truly influential conditions can be difficult

With Smart Corners:

Spectre FMC evaluates statistical behaviour across the defined corners
Similar corner behaviours are identified and grouped
Verification effort is intelligently distributed across groups
Yield-relevant scenarios can be analyzed with improved efficiency

The result is a more targeted verification methodology that helps designers gain statistical insight while reducing unnecessary simulation effort.

Smart Corners Explained (With a Real-Life Analogy)

Think of Smart Corners like planning a road trip.

Old-school method:

You examine every available route individually, even when many of them experience nearly identical traffic patterns.

Smart Corners method:

A navigation system says: "These routes behave similarly. Focus on these few representative routes because they capture the important traffic patterns."

That’s Smart Corners for your circuit. Rather than treating every predefined corner as equally important, Spectre FMC identifies behavioural similarities and helps direct analysis that provide the greatest insight into performance variation and yield risk.

Why Virtuoso ADE Artist Is the Perfect Playground

Virtuoso ADE Artist is designed for advanced‑node and high‑sigma designs, building on ADE Assembler and the Virtuoso Variation Option to provide a unified cockpit for advanced statistical analysis.

Virtuoso ADE Artist serves as the interactive cockpit for:

Managing simulations
Visualizing Monte Carlo results
Evaluating performance metrics

When paired with Spectre FMC:

Statistical trends become visible
Outliers stop hiding
Smart Corners become actionable verification points

How Smart Corners Improve Yield Confidence

Smart Corners enable designers to move from coverage‑based verification to risk‑based verification. Instead of asking: “Did I simulate all the standard corners?” Designers can now ask: “Have I found the statistically worst conditions that threaten yield?” Smart Corners help teams focus verification effort where it delivers the greatest value.

Conclusion: Work Smart, Not Hard (or Not All Corners)

As variability becomes the dominant design challenge, statistically intelligent methodologies are no longer optional. Spectre FMC Smart Corners empower designers to uncover hidden risks, validate designs with confidence, and achieve high yield—without the simulation burden of brute‑force approaches.

Spectre FMC Smart Corners represent a practical evolution in analog verification:

From exhaustive corner exploration → statistically guided analysis
From redundant simulations → focused verification insight

When used inside Virtuoso ADE Artist, Smart Corners help designers spend less time running simulations and more time understanding what actually matters!

So the next time someone says: “Did you run all corners?”

You can smile and reply: “I focused on the ones that mattered most.”

Watch and Learn: Demo Video on Smart Corners!

To understand more about Smart Corners, you can watch a small training bye video which shows this in action.

Demo Spectre FMC Smart Corners in Virtuoso ADE Artist

Training Spotlight: Spectre FMC in Virtuoso ADE Artist

These concepts are covered in depth in the Spectre FMC in Virtuoso ADE Artist Customer Education course.

Key Topics Covered

Monte Carlo simulations in Virtuoso ADE Assembler
Spectre Fast Monte Carlo methodology
AI‑enhanced FMC analysis
Smart Corners setup and execution
Mismatch contribution analysis
Yield estimation and improvement techniques

For lecture, lab instructions and a downloadable design, enroll in the online training courses of your interest on Spectre FMC in Virtuoso ADE Artist. Training is also available as "Blended" or "live" class.

Digital Badge Available

Note: Some of the above links are accessible only to Cadence customers who have a valid login ID for the Cadence ASK and Learning portal.

Do You Have Access to the Cadence ASK Portal?

To find information on how to get an account on the Cadence ASK – Learning portal, check the Cadence ASK – Application Support and Knowledge page.

To stay up to date with the latest news and information about Cadence training and webinars, subscribe to the Cadence Training emails.

If you have questions about courses, schedules, online, public, or live on-site training, reach out to us at Cadence Training.

Happy reading!

Niyati Singh

Virtuoso Studio: Excellent XL – Analyze and Fix Connectivity with Analyzer

2026-06-15T12:41:00Z

Click here to see how Connectivity Analyzer helps you analyze connectivity markers and guide you toward fixes that can be applied directly from the tool.(read more)

Virtuoso Studio IC25.1 ISR6 Now Available

2026-06-10T05:04:00Z

Virtuoso Studio IC25.1 ISR6 production release is now available for download.(read more)

Virtuoso Studio: Excellent XL – How to Keep Layout XL Up to Date with Ease

2026-06-08T21:15:00Z

On‑canvas binding highlights provide color‑coded visibility of binding status across layout and schematic canvases, helping you quickly identify and fix inconsistencies. Click here to learn more.(read more)

Electrically Aware Design: Catch EM and IR Drop Issues Early with EAD

2026-05-26T03:30:00Z

As designs move to advanced nodes, interconnect reliability is pushed to its limits. Narrower metal widths, higher current densities, and dense routing significantly increase exposure to electromigration (EM)—a failure mechanism that can unexpectedly undermine long‑term chip performance and reliability. When these issues surface late, the cost is paid in rework due to increasing wire widths, via insertions, which in turn can result in placement changes leading to schedule slip.

This Virtuoso Layout for Advanced Nodes: T2 Electromigration course teaches you how to use Virtuoso’s EAD flow to prevent, find, and fix electromigration issues in your layout. By identifying problems early, you can avoid rework and develop the hands‑on reliability skills needed for advanced‑node design.

Why Electrically Aware Design Matters

Traditional layout workflows rely heavily on signoff‑stage checks to flag EM and IR‑drop issues. At advanced nodes, that approach is no longer sufficient. The EAD methodology integrates electrical analysis directly into layout creation, allowing designers to evaluate reliability continuously—not just at the end.

Electrically Aware Design (EAD) enables designers to analyze EM and IR drop issues during layout creation, using real-time simulation data to ensure electrically correct designs and avoid costly late-stage rework. Building on this, Virtuoso Simulation Driven Routing (SDR) takes it further by automatically sizing wires and vias based on current, helping achieve EM-compliant, reliable layouts with a true correct-by-construction approach.

This course shows how EAD enables:

Early visibility into current density and voltage drop risks
Faster convergence by analyzing partial layouts
Fewer late‑stage surprises and redesigns

By combining simulation data with layout intelligence, designers gain actionable feedback exactly when they need it most.

Key Topics Covered

After completing the course, you will learn how to:

Understand and apply the Electrically Aware Design flow
Execute simulations to create the electrical current data needed for EMIR checking
Optionally create datasets for EM and IR-drop analysis when simulation is not yet available
Perform pre-layout EM checks
Run RC parasitic extraction on partial and complete layouts
Create datasets for EM and IR‑drop analysis
Visualize parasitics and check for violations, such as cross talk coupling, using the EAD Browser
Run EM checks and resolve violations interactively
Re-simulate designs in ADE Assembler using extracted parasitics at any time during layout creation
Analyze lower-node complexities and layout-dependent effects (LDE)

These topics are reinforced through structured labs that closely mirror real-world advanced-node design challenges.

Who Should Take it?

This course is a great fit if you are:

A student (or early‑career engineer) aiming to build job‑ready skills in advanced‑node custom layout and reliability‑aware flows.
A layout professional working on analog/mixed‑signal/custom blocks who wants more confidence in EM/IR analysis and closure using Virtuoso^®EAD.

Conclusion

The Virtuoso Layout for Advanced Nodes: T2 Electromigration course empowers designers to move beyond late‑stage reliability checks and adopt a proactive, electrically aware layout methodology. By integrating EM analysis early and throughout the design cycle, teams can reduce rework, shorten schedules, and deliver more reliable silicon with confidence.

Enroll in the Course Virtuoso Layout for Advanced Nodes: T2 Electromigration to learn more about Electromigration (EAD Flow) in Virtuoso Studio.

Do You Have Access to the Cadence Support Portal?

If not, follow the steps below to create your account:

On the Cadence Support portal, select Register Now and provide the requested information on the Registration page.
You will need an email address and host ID to sign up.
If you need help with registration, contact support@cadence.com.

To stay up-to-date with the latest news and information about Cadence training and webinars, subscribe to the Cadence Training emails.

If you have questions about courses, schedules, online, public, or live onsite training, contact us at Cadence Training.

Become Cadence Certified

Cadence Training Services now offers digital badges for this training course. These badges indicate proficiency in a certain technology or skill and give you a way to validate your expertise to managers and potential employers. You can highlight your expertise by adding these digital badges to your email signature or any social media platform, such as Facebook or LinkedIn. To become Cadence Certified, you can find additional information here. Go straight to the course exam at the Learning and Support Portal. For more information, visit Cadence Learning and Support - https://support.cadence.com - Your 24/7 Self-Help Partner.

Take the Accelerated Way

Related Resources

Online Courses

Virtuoso Layout for Advanced Nodes

Virtuoso Layout for Advanced Nodes: T1 Place and Route

Virtuoso Layout Advanced Nodes: T2 Electromigration

Auto Place and Route (APR) for Virtuoso Studio – Device Level

Auto Place And Route (APR) for Virtuoso Studio – Standard Cell

Rapid Adoption Kit

Electrically-Aware Design Flow for Advanced Nodes

Simulation Driven Routing (Advance Node)

User Guide

Virtuoso ADE Assembler User Guide

Virtuoso Electrically-Aware Design Flow User Guide

For more information on Cadence circuit design products and services, visit www.cadence.com.

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Contact Us

For any questions or general feedback, please write to custom_ic_blogs@cadence.com.

About Knowledge Booster Training Bytes

Knowledge Booster Training Bytes is an online journal that relays information about Cadence Training videos, online courses, and upcoming webinars that are available in the Learning section of the Cadence Learning and Support portal. This blog category brings you direct links to these videos, courses, and other related material on a regular basis.

Sandeep O

On behalf of the Cadence Training Team

Liberate Trio: A Scalable Answer to Advanced-Node Characterization

2026-05-18T08:30:00Z

The Growing Pain No Library Team Can Ignore

If you're working on standard-cell libraries at 28 nm or below, you already know the math isn't in your favor.

At the 130 nm node, a typical library had fewer than 100 cells and a handful of PVT corners. Fast-forward to 16/14 nm and beyond, libraries now contain 1,200+ cells across 200+ PVT corners.

Every new SoC tape-out demands broader coverage for design robustness, and the characterization workload has exploded.

The question is no longer whether you need multi-PVT characterization; it’s how fast you can adopt it.

The chart below shows how both cell count and PVT corner count have surged at advanced nodes:

The Importance of Multi-PVT Characterization

Every standard cell must be characterized for timing, power, and noise across all approved PVT(Process Voltage Temperature) corners. This ensures reliable SoC operation under all conditions from fastest to slowest performance, across hottest and coldest temperatures, and varying voltage levels.

At advanced nodes, three forces collide:

More cells: Complex logic, multi-Vt variants, low-power cells
More corners: Tighter voltage/temperature margins, more process skews
Shorter schedules: Aggressive tape-out timelines leave no room for reruns

Multi-PVT characterization addresses all three by enabling parallel execution across corners, reducing redundant work, and ensuring consistency.

The Solution: Liberate Trio Built for Multi-PVT Scale

Liberate Trio is Cadence’s advanced library characterization platform designed for standard cells, multi‑bit cells, custom cells, and complex I/Os. It unifies three traditionally separate tasks into a single high‑performance flow:

Characterization
Process variation modeling (LVF)
Library validation

Key Capabilities

Simplified Flow

Run everything in a single session to characterize and model libraries across multiple PVT corners.
Minimum changes required to transition from a legacy single PVT flow to a multi-PVT (MPVT) flow.

Consistency

One consistent setup applied across all PVTs (same methodology, same configuration structure).
Uniform output structure for all generated LIBs across PVT corners, ensuring easier validation and integration.

Performance

Reuse preprocessing artifacts (e.g., vector database) across PVTs to avoid repeated work.
Reuse driver characterization results (e.g., driver waveform database) to accelerate repeated corners.
Better compute efficiency: maximize farm throughput via smart job distribution and parallel execution using Bolt.

Why Liberate Trio Matters

Liberate Trio eliminates traditional characterization bottlenecks by making the flow fast, scalable, and consistent across all PVTs.

Faster turnaround: Parallel multi‑PVT execution significantly reduces runtime
Consistent libraries: Single unified flow for nominal + LVF ensures better correlation
Scalable with Bolt: Efficient job distribution across farm/cloud enables high parallelism
Smarter resource usage: Reuse of data + optimized scheduling improves utilization
Full visibility: Real-time monitoring with quick failure recovery
Efficient recharacterization: Quickly rerun only impacted cells/corners instead of full characterization

Bolt Advantage

Bolt is the engine behind Trio’s scalabilitY. It keeps the farm busy by dynamically distributing jobs to available nodes, load‑balancing across machines, and rerouting failed tasks so large MPVT runs complete faster and more reliably.

Learn How to Do Multi‑PVT Characterization with Liberate Trio

Our MnPVT Characterization of Standard Cells Using Liberate Trio course takes you from fundamentals to hands‑on implementation, covering:

Liberate Trio and Bolt mechanism
Multi-PVT characterization using Liberate Trio
Recovery characterization flow in Liberate Trio
Debugging and validation techniques in Liberate Trio

The course is tightly aligned with the Liberate Trio ecosystem, emphasizing:

Parallel MPVT execution for faster turnaround
Reuse mechanisms (vector/driver databases) for efficiency
Bolt‑based job distribution for scalable compute utilization
Recharacterization flows to update only impacted cells/corners

Ready to Master Standard Cell Characterization?

For lab instructions and a downloadable design, enroll in the online training courses of your interest, MnPVT Characterization of Standard Cells Using Liberate Trio.

Related Resources

Training Bytes (Video Channel)

Online Course

MnPVT Characterization of Standard Cells Using Liberate Trio

Characterizing Standard Cells Using Liberate

Become Cadence Certified

You can become Cadence Certified once you complete the course (s) and share your knowledge and certifications on social media channels. Go straight to the course exam at the Learning and Support Portal.

Note: Some of the above links are accessible only to Cadence customers who have a valid login ID for the Cadence Learning and Support Portal.

Do You Have Access to the Cadence Support Portal?

If not, follow the steps below to create your account.

On the Cadence Support portal, select Register Now and provide the requested information on the Registration page.
You will need an email address and host ID in order to sign up.
If you need help with registration, contact support@cadence.com.

To stay up-to-date with the latest news and information about Cadence training and webinars, subscribe to the Cadence Training emails.

If you have questions about courses, schedules, online, public, or live onsite training, reach out to us at Cadence Training.

Take the Accelerated Way

Thanks for reading, wishing you faster, smarter characterization ahead.

Rajashekharayya Hiremath

Lead Education Application Engineer

Virtuoso Studio: Excellent XL – Automated Layout XL Binding from LVS Data

2026-05-15T05:32:00Z

Click here to discover how Virtuoso Studio IC25.1 uses LVS svdb data for automated Layout XL binding, transforming hierarchical designs from LVS-clean to XL-compliant.(read more)

Analog Circuit Modeling Using Verilog-A within Virtuoso: A Video Series

2026-05-07T05:46:00Z

A Practical Video Series that connects Verilog‑A Modeling to Real Circuit Behavior, covering Devices, Data Converters, Signal Generators, and Digital Models.(read more)

Legacy Node to Advanced Silicon: Schematic Migration in Cadence Virtuoso Studio

2026-05-04T08:00:00Z

In today’s fast-paced semiconductor industry, technology nodes evolve quickly—yet analog designs often have long, productive lives. A carefully tuned amplifier, data converter, or IP block can often be reused across multiple process nodes and even across different foundries. This is where schematic migration becomes essential. Schematic migration is now a crucial strategy for modern analog design reuse.

Schematic migration involves transferring a schematic from a source technology (source PDK) to a target technology (target PDK) while maintaining:

Circuit topology and hierarchy
Device intent and parameter relationships
Connectivity and bulk handling
Readiness for simulation

In Virtuoso Studio, schematic migration is part of the Custom Design Migration flow, which also includes layout migration. The schematic phase sets the foundation by creating a clean, well-mapped, connectivity-accurate target schematic that can later guide layout migration and verification.

Design teams depend on schematic migration for several practical reasons:

Advancing technological nodes
Porting across foundries
Reusing IP and scaling products
Reducing risk and saving time

Virtuoso Schematic Migration directly addresses these issues by automating repetitive tasks while allowing designers to retain control over key decisions.

Schematic migration is now a crucial strategy for modern analog design reuse.

With Cadence Virtuoso Schematic Migration, designers can:

Confidently transfer designs across different technologies
Minimize manual effort and migration risks
Preserve connectivity, parameters, and simulation intent
Expand migration from individual cells to entire libraries

Whether upgrading nodes, changing foundries, or reusing proven IP, schematic migration enables faster progress without compromising quality, promising quality.

Want to Learn More?

For lab instructions and a downloadable design, enroll in the online training courses of your interest:

Analog Custom Design Migration Using Virtuoso Studio

Training is also available as a blended or live class.

Note: Access to some training links is limited, they are accessible only to the Cadence customers who have a valid login ID for the Cadence Learning and Support Portal.

Do You Have Access to the Cadence Support Portal?

If not, follow the steps below to create your account.

On the Cadence Support portal, select Register Now and provide the requested information on the Registration page.
You will need an email address and host ID in order to sign up.
If you need help with registration, contact support@cadence.com.

To stay up-to-date with the latest news and information about Cadence training and webinars, subscribe to the Cadence Training emails.

If you have questions about courses, schedules, online, public, or live onsite training, reach out to us at Cadence Training.

Become Cadence Certified

Cadence Training Services is now offering digital badges for its training courses. These badges indicate your proficiency in a specific technology or skill, allowing you to validate your expertise to potential employers or managers. You can easily add these digital badges to your email signature or social media profiles like Facebook or LinkedIn to highlight your skills and expertise. To become Cadence Certified, you can find additional information here. Go straight to the course exam at the Learning and Support Portal.

Online Course

Rapid Action Kits

Take the Accelerated Way

Accelerated Learning courses are marked with this symbol in our Learning Maps.

About Knowledge Booster Training Bytes

"Knowledge Booster Training Bytes" is an online journal that provides information about Cadence Training videos, online courses, and upcoming webinars that are available on the Cadence Learning and Support portal. This blog category offers direct links to these videos, courses, and other related materials on a regular basis.

Sai Darshan S Nishani

Sr. Education Application Engineer

New Spectre AMS Designer Features in XCELIUM 26.03

2026-04-27T20:50:00Z

The Spectre AMS Designer features are now available through the XCELIUM 26.03 release for download at Cadence Downloads. For information on supported platforms and other release compatibility information, see the README.txt file in the installation hierarchy.(read more)

Accurate S-Parameter Simulations Using Spectre Simulator in Virtuoso Studio

2026-04-27T19:10:00Z

Introduction: Designing Beyond DC and Time Domain Limits

Imagine validating high-speed interconnect or RF block operating in the multi-GHz range. Traditional modeling and simulation approaches quickly reach their limits when used to validate high speed interconnect or RF blocks operating in the multi-GHz range. When signals begin to propagate like waves, ringing and reflection dominate behavior and frequency-dependent losses become significant, resulting in issues that are only identified after integration..

In these designs, engineers use S-Parameters to describe how signals behave as traveling waves across ports, rather than simple voltages and currents at nodes. This representation is essential for modeling RF blocks, transmission lines, packages, and structures extracted using electromagnetic (EM) simulations.

The training course "S-Parameter Simulations Using Spectre in Virtuoso Studio" aims to help designers accurately model, validate, analyze, and debug S-Parameters within the Virtuoso and Spectre simulation environments. It bridges theoretical understanding with simulation-ready workflows.

Why S-Parameter Simulation Is Essential

S-Parameters are often generated from EM solvers or measured data and then reused across multiple designs. However, poor quality S-Parameter data can lead to serious downstream issues, as described in the table below.

Common Challenges Without Proper S-Parameter Validation

Challenge	Impact on Simulation
Non‑causal data	Nonphysical time domain behavior
Passivity violations	Instability in transient simulations
Insufficient bandwidth	Inaccurate gain and reflection metrics
Poor model fitting	Spectre convergence failures

Suggested S‑Parameter Simulation Flow in Virtuoso and Spectre

This workflow ensures that Spectre-compatible, high-quality S-parameters are utilized in simulations.

The training course "S-Parameter Simulations Using Spectre in Virtuoso Studio" provides designers with the knowledge and tools necessary to work effectively with frequency-domain models in modern high-speed and RF designs. Instead of viewing S-Parameters as opaque data files, this course teaches engineers how to understand, visualize, validate, and debug them using Cadence-supported workflows.

Topics Covered in the Course

1. Introduction to S-Parameters: The course begins with foundational concepts, including:

What S-Parameters represent in frequency domain analysis
Reflection and transmission behavior across ports
Understanding magnitude and phase as part of RF characterization

All the learners—whether from RF or mixed-signal backgrounds—share a common baseline.

2. S-Parameter Modeling and Small-Signal Analysis in Spectre: The core of the course is using S-Parameters directly within the Spectre simulator. Topics include:

S-Parameter modeling best practices
Performing small-signal S-Parameter analysis
Understanding how Spectre consumes and interprets S-Parameter data

This section connects abstract S-Parameter modeling to real simulation workflows.

3. S-Parameter Quality Checking and Fitting Tool: One of the most important components of the course is the S-Parameter Quality Checking and Fitting Tool, designed to:

Provide EM modelers with suggestions for more effective extraction
Detect causality, passivity, and bandwidth issues
Identify problematic S-Parameter datasets early
Generate reliable Rational Fit Models (RFMs) for simulation use

The tool helps reduce downstream simulation failures by ensuring only high-quality S-Parameter data reaches Spectre.

4. Debugging and Comparing S-Parameters: In this course, you will:

Debug issues found during S-Parameter checking
Compare multiple S-Parameter datasets
Evaluate differences between EM extracted, fitted, and measured data

These capabilities are critical when validating models across different extraction or measurement sources.

5. Working with MDIF Data: The final section of the course covers running the S-Parameter Quality Checking and Fitting tool on the Measurement Data Interface File (MDIF) formats.

For more details, kindly navigate to the training: S-Parameter Simulations Using Spectre in Virtuoso Studio

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