PR, Sim Tech and the Elderly

Greetings, IBIS Gentlefolk

A few points on various subjects.

1) The press release - Please use Quantic Laboratories for our name, as Quantic
   Labs is our informal name. I have passed on the text to our Marketing
   department.
   [ Randy, please would you add jonathan@quantic.mb.ca to the circulation list
   for Press releases. Thanks ]

2) I've finally remembered what I meant by the simulation technology for model
   vendors, which was item 8 on the list and targeted for deletion tomorrow.
   This was in regards to the situation where a silicon vendor derives the
   data for an IBIS model from a simulation of the SPICE model rather than
   by measurement of the actual device. I believe that the circuits used to
   derive the curves should be standardised as far as possible and documented
   to make it easy for new silicon vendors to do this. One of the problems is
   that you can end up with more points than appropriate for an IBIS model as
   you only want to pick out the salient characteristics of the curve. Putting
   in the whole set of points leads to additional computation time and the
   closeness of the points with similar slopes may cause convergence problems
   in the simulator. We have solved this problem within our VI curve modellor
   Phidias, by using a curve following cursor and letting the user select
   the requisite data points.

   Do other people think that silicon vendors will do this? If they don't
   then this is not a problem. If they do then it needs clarifying. Do
   Intel plan to do anything like this.

   I'd like this briefly discussed to check if it is worthy of further discussion.

3) What about the elderly devices?
   In conversation with a customer about IBIS, he asked whether the older
   devices he was using would be provided in IBIS format. As we all know
   the models availability issue which IBIS finally addresses has been
   around for quite sometime and SPICE models are still difficult if not
   impossible for old devices (i.e those over 2 years old!). Also, not
   every company upgrades to the latest and greatest versions of a chip in
   their designs, for various reasons including cost, availability and
   re-design time.
   Obviously, for Intel, the Pentium and its associated devices were a suitable
   starting point for this, but do they plan to issue IBIS models of some of
   their earlier devices? I understand that this will mainly affect the
   silicon vendors in their efforts to support IBIS, but it is likely to
   impair the efforts of the simulation vendors to push the IBIS way if
   only those companies on the leading edge will be able to use the IBIS
   models. I am sure that not all their designs contain only the latest
   components. I also realise that there is an awful lot of devices.

   I'd like to propose this for an agenda item for discussion - I think
   the result would probably be a policy for IBIS silicon vendors or a
   decision to leave it up to the individual companies as to how many devices
   they put into IBIS format.

I look forward to comments on the above two points.

Mike Ventham

P.S We should also agree whether we are IBIS'ers, IBISIans, IBISonians etc., or
    just the IBIS consortium.
Received on Thu Aug 19 16:41:15 1993