iRoC Releases ROBAN Interface for ModelSim

Compliance With Model Technology's Simulator Aids Soft Error Assessment

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 2002--iRoC Technologies, a leader in the field of Integrated Circuits Reliability, announced that ROBAN(TM), the leading soft error simulator, is now fully compliant with the ModelSim® HDL Simulator from Model Technology(TM), a Mentor Graphics Company. iRoC completed and tested full compliancy of the two products so designers may confidently use them together immediately. Introducing soft error simulation during the initial front-end design flow process provides the first means to assess the robustness of logic blocks in VDSM chips at the stage where errors can be corrected before they cause time consuming rework of designs. Designers now will be able to design in solutions for soft errors at the high level design stage, not much later when problems are discovered during the manufacturing process and final stage testing.

iRoC, through the Model Technology Value Added Partnership Program, developed a transparent integration of ModelSim and ROBAN to make the use of soft error simulation easy through a single graphical user interface. As the semiconductor industry moves steadily towards nanometer technologies, back-end process and manufacturing steps add more and more costs. The newest EDA tools are designed to avoid expensive back-loop and to obtain early assurances about initial customer specification matching. To discover at the GDSII level or during the qualification run that current IC doesn't fit with FIT specifications is an expensive nightmare for electronic systems and IC designers.

"Adding new constraints during the design flow process is crippling for design engineers because of increased iterations. We believe that time-to-market will be significantly shortened by adoption of ROBAN and commercial simulators such as ModelSim," said Eric Dupont, president and CEO of iRoC Technologies Corporation. "ROBAN frees design engineers from new FIT constraints coming from VDSM vulnerability to soft-errors because with ROBAN, iRoC offers the first ever front-end soft error sign off," added Dupont.

"Through cooperation with iRoC, Model Technology extends its leading edge position in simulation. ModelSim customers will benefit through efficient simulation addressing their signal integrity issues," stated Dennis Brophy, director of strategic business development for Model Technology.

The ROBAN approach

ROBAN uses a specific, fast algorithm to inject faults into a logic network at the gate level. Not using a specific simulator means designers must run an HDL simulation for each fault injected and this results in overall design methodology delays and reworks that are very costly for complex chips. ROBAN enables designers to speed up this process by running concurrent fault injection simulation for combinational blocks and sequential blocks as well. The ROBAN tool output provides an accurate sensitivity analysis versus clock frequency and soft error pulse width. Benchmark tests performed by iRoC and independent laboratories are available upon request.

ROBAN Pricing and Availability

The ROBAN 2.0 price list starts at $25K, with final pricing dependent on the application and number of seats. ROBAN is compatible with and supports Sun SPARC running Sun OS or Solaris and Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC running HP-UX.

SPARC Test Results

On January 28, iRoC announced results from radiation test results that prove embedded intellectual property (IP) for error protection could be added to a system-on-chip (SoC) without decreasing high performance. iRoC's code in memories and logic circuits added no extra delay compared to the genuine die SPARC V8 and enabled memory reliability with a 100% efficiency of its specific robustness architecture. The ROC S81 synthesis report is now available on iRoC web site at www.iroctech.com

About iRoC Technologies

iRoC is a leading semiconductor intellectual property (IP) company that designs, develops and licenses dependable cores and technologies that improve electronic system reliability, quality and security using standard CMOS processes. iRoC's complete design solution includes a family of Robust IP building blocks, a technology platform for know-how transfer, and custom design and radiation tests services. More information on the company's products and services can be obtained at www.iroctech.com.

Note to Editors: iRoC and ROBAN are registered trademarks of iRoC Technologies Corporation. Model Technology(TM) and ModelSim® are trademarks of Model Technology Corporation. All other company or product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

     iRoC Technologies Corp., Santa Clara
     Bob Ingols, 650/854-1260
     bob.ingols@iroctech.com
     Audrey Rambaud, 408/982-5800
     audrey.rambaud@iroctech.com