Using In-Design Analysis to Cut PCB Design Cycles in Half

To succeed in today’s highly competitive electronics markets, designers are moving multiphysics analysis technologies from the validation stage to becoming an integral part of each phase of the design process at the chip, package, board, and complete system level. This in-design analysis (IDA) strategy serves to uncover defects early in the design process/workflow, improving electronic product and system quality while shortening design cycles by catching signal/power-integrity (SI/PI) and thermal issues before they require late-stage rework.

A recent webinar, now available on demand, demonstrates how integrating IDA early in the workflow enables SI, PI, and thermal validation directly within the layout, enabling design teams to cut cycles by as much as 50%. By embedding these checks during the design phase, teams can iterate more rapidly, reduce risks, and shift much of the workload from the traditional "analyze after routing" approach to a more efficient "analyze while designing" methodology. The webinar presents practical workflows through real-world success stories that use Cadence’s Allegro X Design Platform with Sigrity X SI/PI analysis and Clarity 3D Solver platforms to validate signal, power, and thermal aspects of PCB designs. The latest new features that enhance productivity and foster greater team collaboration are highlighted, and a preview of an upcoming deep-dive presentation is given that focuses on the role of key design team members in maximizing the benefits of IDA.

Cadence In-Design Analysis

The Cadence IDA design solution offers automation, integration, and optimization all within a single environment, providing rapid electrical and thermal checks directly inside the layout workspace and enabling engineers to perform what-if scenario modeling that simulates adjustments to traces and components before committing to a final route, as well as multiphysics convergence that connects layout tools smoothly with high-capacity solvers like Sigrity X and the Clarity 3D Solver. This early error detection ability catches impedance, thermal, and voltage drop issues and reduces expensive respins. The figure below shows how the workflow incorporates the Allegro Constraint Manager and Sigrity X Topology Workbench for both pre-layout and post-route analysis.

Allegro X PCB IDA provides layout-based checking and analysis for the entire design team with enhanced analysis workflows that are integrated with fundamental SI/PI analysis flows directly integrated with Sigrity X SI/PI analysis technology. Sigrity X Aurora PCB analysis is fast, actionable, and easy-to-use design screening, SI/PI, and thermal analysis. Directly integrated into the Allegro X PCB design framework, it brings IDA to PCB analysis with overlays that display actionable analysis results through distributed processing and high-performance computing support that enables unparalleled accuracy in a significantly shortened design cycle.

Design Demonstration

The webinar presents a design example of a single-board computer with a dual-core system on chip in the center, 16-core real-time processor on the right, and a gigabyte double-data rate (DDR). The demo concentrates mainly on power-related issues with the double-data rate DDR interface.

Success Stories/Case Studies

The following customer stories are presented following the demonstration.

• ZF Automotive: Sigrity X for Automotive PCB Design Efficiency
  ZF Automotive, a major global technology company supplying advanced mobility systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and industrial technology, uses Sigrity X to manage signal, power, and thermal concerns before it is too late.
• Formfactor, Inc.: Sigrity X for Early Analysis on Massive Test Boards
  Sigrity X enables Formfactor, Inc., a provider of test and measurement technologies for integrated circuits, to skip the translation phase, compress design cycles, and obtain results more quickly.
• Amkor Technology, Inc.: In-Design Analysis SuccessYs
  Amkor Technology, a provider of semiconductor packaging and test services, employs the Cadence IDA workflow to bolster its limited staff of SI/PI analysis experts.
• Chipletz: Advancing the PCB Design Flow with In-Design Analysis
  Chipletz, an advanced packaging technology company that addresses the increasing demand for compute performance by offering denser computing capability, uses Sigrity X as part of its IDA flow to quickly find and fix SI/PI issues during the layout process.

Conclusion

“Using In-Design Analysis to Cut PCB Design Cycles in Half” discusses Cadence’s in-design analysis workflows, which allow designers to integrate SI, PI, and thermal validation directly within the layout, helping design teams to cut cycles by as much as 50%. The analysis of a PCB using the Allegro X Design Platform with Sigrity X SI/PI analysis and Clarity 3D Solver tools is presented, along with several practical workflows that are illustrated with real-world success stories and case studies.

The webinar is available to view on demand here.