[IBIS-Users] [IBIS] IBIS Summit minutes (10/21/03)


Subject: [IBIS-Users] [IBIS] IBIS Summit minutes (10/21/03)
From: rrwolff@micron.com
Date: Wed Oct 29 2003 - 07:46:23 PST


DATE: 10/29/03

SUBJECT: OCTOBER 21, 2003 EIA IBIS Summit Meeting Minutes

VOTING MEMBERS AND 2003 PARTICIPANTS LIST:
Ansoft Corporation (Eric Bracken)
Apple Computer Kim Helliwell
Applied Simulation Technology Fred Balistreri
Cadence Design Lynne Green*, Lance Wang*
Cisco Systems Syed Huq, Michael LaBonte*,
                               Val Mandruson, Hung Pham,
                               Todd Westerhoff
Fairchild Semiconductor (Graham Connolly)
Hitachi ULSI Systems Kazuyoshi Shoji*
Huawei Technologies (Jiang Xiang Zhong)
Intel Corporation Stephen Peters, Michael Mirmak*,
                               Arpad Muranyi*, Eric Magnusson
LSI Logic Frank Gasparik
Matsushita (Panasonic) Atsuji Ito
Mentor Graphics [Bob Ross], Ian Dodd*, Guy de Burgh,
                               John Angulo*, Mike Donnelly, Weston Beal
Micron Technology Randy Wolff
Molex Incorporated Gus Panella
Motorola (Rick Kingen)
National Semiconductor [Milt Schwartz], [Tim Coyle]
NEC Electric Corporation (Itsuki Yamada)
North East Systems Associates Edward Sayre*, Kathy Breda*, Michael Baxter*
Philips Semiconductor (D.C. Sessions), Stephanie Goedecke
Siemens (& Automotive) AG Eckhard Lenski*, Michael Kindij,
                               Burkhard Muller, Katja Koller,
                               Andre Goerisch, Manfred Maurer,
                               Bernard Unger, Amir Motamedi,
                               Hartmut Ibowski, Gerald Bannert
Signal Integrity Software Bob Haller*, Barry Katz, Doug Burns
Sigrity [Raj Raghuram]
Sun Microsystems Tim Coyle*
Synopsys Warren Wong, Edmund Cheng
Texas Instruments Thomas Fisher*
Teraspeed Scott McMorrow, Tom Dagostino,
                               Kevin Simpson, Bob Ross*
Time Domain Analysis Systems Dima Smolyansky, Steve Corey
Zuken (& Incases) Michael Schaeder, Ralf Bruening

OTHER PARTICIPANTS IN 2003:
Agilent Technologies Herbert Lage
Brocade Frank Yuan, Yongrue Yu
Conexant Gary Felker
EADS CCR Alix de la Villeguerin
EFM Ekkehard Miersch
EMC Corporation Brian Arsenault, John Fernandez,
                               Simba Julian
Fraunhofer IZM Ege Engin
Fujitsu Tadashi Arai
GEIA (Chris Denham)
Independent Luca Giacotto, Kelly Green, Shinichi Maeda*
Infineon Tech AG Christian Sporrer
Marvell Semiconductor Itzik Peleg
NetLogic Microsystems Eric Hsu
North Carolina State Univ. Ambrish Varma*
Plexus Joseph Socha
Politechnico de Torino Igor Stievano
Qlogic Larry Barnes
Sintecs BV Hans Klos, Bob te Nijenhuis
SiQual (Rob Hinz)
Via Technologies (Weber Chuang)
Xilinx Susan Wu

In the list above, attendees at the meeting are indicated by *. Principal
members or other active members who have not attended are in parentheses.
Participants who no longer are in the organization are in square brackets.

Upcoming Meetings: The bridge numbers for future IBIS teleconferences are
as follows:

       Date Telephone Number Bridge # Passcode
November 14, 2003 1-916-356-2663 1 477-8778

All meetings are 8:00 AM to 9:55 AM Pacific Time. Meeting agendas are
typically distributed seven days before each Open Forum. Minutes are
typically distributed within seven days of the corresponding meeting.
When calling into the meeting, provide the bridge number and
passcode at the automated prompts. If asked by an operator, please
request to join the IBIS Open Forum hosted by Michael Mirmak.
For international dial-in numbers, please contact Michael Mirmak.

NOTE: "AR" = Action Required.

-------------------------------- MINUTES -----------------------------------

INTRODUCTIONS AND MEETING QUORUM
The IBIS Summit Meeting was held in Westford, Massachusetts at the
offices of North East Systems Associates (NESA) in conjunction with the PCB
East Conference. The summit was co-sponsored by IBIS and NESA. 18 people
representing 12 organizations attended, including 7 people who
attended via teleconference.

The notes below capture some of the content and discussions. The meeting
presentations and other documents are uploaded at:

  http://www.eda.org/pub/ibis/summits/oct03/

Michael Mirmak opened the meeting and asked everyone in the room and on the
teleconference bridge to introduce themselves. The group was
well-attended by semiconductor vendors and model providers, EDA tool
vendors and users of IBIS models. Michael thanked Kathy Breda and Ed Sayre
of North East Systems Associates for their logistical support on-site and
Lynne Green for her assistance with calls for papers and setting the agenda.
Finally, Michael thanked the presenters and participants for attending.

Ed Sayre, CEO of North East Systems Associates, welcomed the participants
and expressed his hope that the summit would be a productive and useful
experience.

Michael asked if there were any new issues or discussion items to add to
the agenda. No issues were raised.

PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSION TOPICS
The rest of the meeting consisted of presentations and discussions. These
notes capture some of the content and discussion. More details are
available in the documents uploaded to the location noted above.

IBIS CHAIR'S REPORT
Michael Mirmak, Intel Corporation
Michael reviewed the recent work of the IBIS Open Forum and IBIS community
at large. The Open Forum continues to be strong, with 28 paid members
and nine purchasers of Golden Parser (IBISCHK) licenses. In addition,
specification development activities are on-going, with the approval of
the IBIS Interconnect Modeling Specification (ICM) 1.0 and the first
formal "readings" of the IBIS 4.1 specification about to begin. The
IBIS Quality Committee continues to provide feedback on models and
modeling issues, and a new IBISCHK4 parser is expected to pass beta
testing before the end of the year.

While IBIS Open Forum work has been successful, many challenges remain
ahead for IBIS as a whole. In order to better support IBIS tool
vendors, model makers, and users, cookbooks for both ICM and IBIS 4.0
must be completed and distributed as soon as possible. In addition,
the Open Forum must continue to expand and enhance a global IBIS
community; support of the European DATE summit must continue, but
the Open Forum should also consider holding "Electronic Roadshow"
presentations in time zones convenient to Europe and Asia. This would
help bring summit-quality presentations to other parts of the globe
while not incurring the costs associated with international travel.

Ed Sayre suggested that more IBIS technical materials be made available
to universities and university students, at perhaps a junior or senior
level. This would enhance interest in behavioral modeling and promote
IBIS as a whole new way of looking at semiconductors. Mike LaBonte also
suggested that IBIS member company Synopsys be encouraged to present
at future summits on its HSPICE*-related IBIS support.

IBIS QUALITY COMMITTEE UPDATE
Bob Haller, Signal Integrity Software (SiSoft)
Bob reviewed the purpose of the Quality Committee and summarized the
backgrounds of the various participants. He then listed the various
"problem areas" of IBIS, where accuracy has become difficult due to
misinterpretations or limitations of the IBIS specification; these
include C_comp, on-die termination and matching between I-V and V-t
curves.

On-die termination prompted some discussion. While Bob noted that IBIS
was not necessarily intended to include these termination effects, he
suggested that sweeping I-V curves over the entire operating range
of the part is sufficient to ensure these effects' inclusion. Ed
Sayre noted that, as memory chips are the highest volume component in
production today, user configurability of termination, strength and
slew rate are serious issues. On overclocking, Bob suggested that
cutting out "excessive dead time" in V-t curves helps to ensure
the usability of IBIS models at higher frequencies. However, he also
suggested that an explicit maximum frequency limit may be needed.

Ed Sayre observed that, in general, manufacturers might not always be
the best source for accurate modeling information, as IBIS is treated
more as a "marketing feature" than a technical requirement.

On accuracy checking, Michael Mirmak suggested that a parser specification,
including the parser's assumptions and outside of the actual IBIS
specification, should be written to inform the IBIS community of how the
specification is being interpreted.

Bob reviewed the current Quality Committee model quality rating levels
and solicited feedback on Committee documents. Accuracy questions are
encouraged, as are more participant papers on accuracy issues.

Bob concluded his presentation by noting that the next Quality Committee
meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 9. He observed that the
meeting had good European and Japanese participation and he hoped this
would continue.

For additional information on the quality committee and to be included on
the mailing list send mail to ibis-quality@freelist.org. The IBIS quality
committee web site is available on the IBIS web page or at

  http://www.sisoft.com/ibis-quality

IBIS USER EXPERIENCES
Timothy Coyle, Sun Microsystems
Timothy reviewed the current state of IBIS from a model maker's and model
user's perspective. At present, IBIS 3.2 is familiar and firmly entrenched
in the industry. While the concepts are familiar, most models represent
extremes of very good or very poor quality, even among those which pass the
Golden Parser. Poor accuracy and quality for model data is not detected by
the parser in most cases; in addition, many manufacturers treat generation
of IBIS data as a marketing effort or as an adjunct to design rather than as
a separate step performed by a specific expert.

Timothy summarized his recommended procedure for verifying outside model
accuracy:
- determine your vendors' IBIS generation procedures
- request tester or other verification data
- ask about their trust in their modeling data (would they fail a system
  design based on their modeling data?)

As an adjunct activity to promote greater accuracy and information exchange,
Timothy has created a separate web site for IBIS developers, to be announced
in several weeks. The purpose of the web site will be to provide
information exchange in answer to the frequent questions of speed and
accuracy asked in relation to IBIS versus transistor-level modeling tools.
Comments and suggestions for the site may be provided to
timothy.coyle@sun.com.

S2IBIS3 - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Ambrish Varma, North Carolina State University
Ambrish Varma summarized the current progress on S2IBIS3 development. At
present, the tool is Java-based to ensure maximum compatibility across
all platforms. All keywords supported by S2IBIS2 are included, plus
support for series elements, such as [Series MOSFET], has just been added.
For the longer term a graphical user interface, perhaps including
parser and model library support, could be included, with macromodeling
features to enable power supply noise analysis and the like. A
specification document is being written to summarize how S2IBIS3 approaches
IBIS creation and the assumptions made outside of IBIS requirements.
Ambrish concluded by soliciting feedback on the current beta.

Lynne Green observed that, while SSO and power/ground bounce information
would be highly useful, the original IBIS specification contained no
keywords to support inclusion of the data. Simulations which show
these effects rely on approaches and assumptions outside of the IBIS
keywords. Mike LaBonte suggested that the current command (CMD) file
information could be exported into the appropriate sections of the output
file as comments, to inform the user as to how the data was derived. In
response to an inquiry about I-V sweeping, Ambrish observed that DC sweeps
are used to generate I-V curve tables; this raised concern about the
differences between transient and DC sweep assumptions in biasing and
convergence.

Ed Sayre noted with some concern that the future work needed to
complete S2IBIS3 work was not funded. A detailed discussion was deferred
until the end of the meeting.

AN ICM EXAMPLE USING A SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE PACKAGE
Michael Mirmak, Intel Corp
Michael presented a typical application of ICM 1.0 to semiconductor
designs, a ball-grid array (BGA) package. He reviewed the structure of
BGA packages, how they might be modeled under IBIS 3.2/4.0 and showed
a detailed ICM version of a differential pair within a BGA package.
The particular example used nodal mapping of RLGC section data.
Clearly, ICM resolves the problem of the IBIS package format, where
model authors had to choose between creating multi-segment models of
a package or creating a fully coupled model. Michael noted that,
for full compatibility with current multi-conductor RLGC modeling
approaches, support for additional RLGC data tables showing frequency-based
variations should be added to a future ICM revision. Michael also
noted that Kelly Green, the ICM parser developer, expects to have
an alpha release ready in early November.

Several people pointed out a minor typographical error in the ICM
model presented. Also, there were a few inquiries as to how the nodal
format connects separate sections together when each section differs
in the number of nodes or interconnects modeled. Finally, there were
several questions regarding whether the resistance matrices, which show
diminishing values in ohms for off-diagonal terms, include conductance
effects or not. Michael promised to research this and provide more
technical details to individual participants.

The example ICM model set presented in Michael's slides is available as a
separate file on the IBIS web site. The suggested corrections will be
made in the posted version.

USE OF [RAMP] IN IBIS 4.1
Lynne Green, Cadence Design Systems
Lynne summarized the history of the [Ramp] keyword, by observing its use
and associated assumptions in IBIS 1.0. While V-t curve support was
added in IBIS 2.1 to more realistically model the non-linear transitions
of buffers, [Ramp] was kept for compatibility. The data in the keyword
is highly useful for estimating an initial timestep for simulation and
also for estimating crosstalk effects. Unfortunately, the utility of
[Ramp] is compromised by misuse of the keyword data -- for example,
normalizing the data to "1 ns" dt instead of collecting correct dV
and dt data for the buffer into the appropriate load. At present,
data for single-ended buffers can be collected with almost any
resistive load similar to that expected under normal conditions.
For differential buffers, the single-ended termination voltage
assumptions break down, though comments can help to eliminate some
confusion. BIRD75 extensions threaten to cause more issues, as the
flexibility of AMS or Berkeley SPICE designs under IBIS 4.1 make a
single recommendation for collecting [Ramp] data impossible to create
-- how should one create [Ramp] data for a programmable slew rate buffer?
Currently, BIRD85 has been proposed to make [Ramp] a requirement for
[External Model] data, so that the utility of [Ramp] for timestep and
crosstalk estimation is preserved. The language of BIRD85 clarifies
exactly what the [Ramp] data means and how it should be generated.

Michael Mirmak pointed out the risks in "overloading" the [Ramp]
keyword's meaning, as models today appear which badly misuse the
keyword or ignore the data derivation rules for it. John Angulo
pointed out that the real intent of the keyword in advanced
applications is to define a slew time target, which some tools
already explicitly request. Mike LaBonte raised the issue of
adding termination voltage and resistance information to the
keyword. Lynne pointed out that, while this would help with some
differential loading types, this would not preserve the original
keyword nor would it provide a general solution for future designs.

DETAILS ON TRUE DIFFERENTIAL BUFFER CHARACTERIZATION REVISITED
Arpad Muranyi, Intel Corp.
Arpad presented his slides as an extension of previous talks by
himself and Hazem Hegazy on differential modeling at the 2000, 2001,
and 2002 IBIS Summits. The updated slides take the 2002 proposed method
of generating differential and common mode curves for an IBIS model
and show how this method actually can be implemented using IBIS 3.2
keywords. Arpad pointed out that, while his new method satisfactorily
accounts for differential currents and capacitances, the 3.2 series element
keywords necessary to properly describe these effects are not universally
available in IBIS compatible tools today.

The essence of the new I-V model technique is to generate common mode
currents, captured under the standard [Model] keywords and subparameters,
while placing differential mode currents under a series element keyword
([Series MOSFET], [Series Current], etc. which would "tie together" the two
common mode models. By creating a surface plot and normalizing the plot so
that diagonal currents are zero, the off-diagonal components can be used for
the differential mode model. The current along the diagonal becomes the
common mode model data. This can be fairly easily accomplished using Perl
and a SPICE simulation tool, though new Matlab toolboxes may ease the
process. V-t curves can be generated by canceling the differential currents
with a dependent current source controlled by coefficients resulting from
the earlier I-V sweeps.

Arpad also showed a differential capacitance meter based upon an AC
(frequency-domain) sweep of the buffer of interest, with appropriate
biasing. The differential and common mode components of C_comp can be
measured using this method and expressed using [Model] and series element
keywords as with the I-V curves above. Using a correct C_comp value and
combined [Model] and series element keyword data yields excellent transient
and DC matching between transistor and IBIS models. The matching is less
accurate when only the buffer's internal load (no external load) is used for
the correlation. Similarly, mismatched transmission lines show
miscorrelation, though the results for transmission lines with impedances
matched to the buffer data's load resistance showed very good matching.
Data dependencies, seen as rising and falling asymmetries, appeared in the
transistor-level model which IBIS 3.2 cannot match. Many of these issues may
be addressed more completely using an IBIS 4.1 AMS-based model.

Both Arpad and Ed Sayre noted that rising vs. falling asymmetries have been
noted in actual (simulated) designs. The participants agreed that further
study was needed of Arpad's techniques before meaningful feedback could
be provided.

OTHER DISCUSSIONS AND AD HOC PRESENTATIONS
The post-presentation discussions focused primarily on IBIS futures,
specifically regarding ICM, S2IBIS3, and technical issues related to
IBIS 4.1. Ed Sayre strongly suggested that an ICM roadmap be prepared, to
include the adoption steps necessary by tool vendors, the support plan of
the Open Forum, and the timeline of these actions plus specification
enhancements. Arpad added questions regarding the applicability of ICM to
other types of interconnect, specifically on-die: could ICM be used to
describe power and ground networks inside the die as well as on packages?
Ed followed this with questions regarding the use of ICM for power-ground
modeling: are "bedspring" models of power delivery networks the only option
under ICM, or are plane models also possible? Michael Mirmak commented
that, at present, ICM was most suitable for packages and PCB-related
interconnects, while the multi-lingual extensions of IBIS 4.1 were intended
to assist modeling of on-die interconnects.

Michael provided a brief sketch of ICM's potential direction:
- provide frequency-dependent RLGC support
- clarify interfacing to IBIS models
- clarify the relationship between ICM and IBIS 4.1 multi-lingual extensions
- (potentially) enable ICM as a "fourth extension" in a post-4.1 version
  of IBIS

Bob Ross commented that the use of ICM as an IBIS extension was complicated
by ICM's existence as an independent specification. As with VHDL-AMS and
Verilog-AMS, any connection between ICM and IBIS cannot be easily "built-in"
to the ICM specification.

Ed Sayre suggested that a detailed ICM roadmap could be prepared as follows:
- provide regular status reports
- gather consensus from major stakeholders on ICM's direction
- use DesignCon as a forum for presenting the plans
- reintroduce ICM to the modeling community, who may be desensitized to
  discussions due to the long delay in finalizing the specification

If needed, major connector and cable manufacturers can be involved, perhaps
even to supply funds if further development expenses are foreseen.

Ed also raised the earlier issue of S2IBIS3 financial support. He noted
that, while Java certainly was platform-independent, were there other
options which may be more easily adopted? Also, as this is a freely
distributed "product," was the Open Forum involved in raising money for
it, as it is being developed for non-commercial purposes? Both Bob Ross and
Michael Mirmak commented that, as with earlier discussion of open source
distribution of the IBIS parser, the Open Forum must refrain from offering
"products" which may create additional competitive pressure for its members.
In such a situation, no incentive remains for IBIS to retain and grow its
membership, if no benefit and calculable loss results to companies who
joined. For the foreseeable future, S2IBIS3 will be supported indirectly by
the Open Forum, through research and technical feedback, but will not be
offered or controlled directly by the Open Forum.

Regarding [Ramp], John Angulo summarized his BIRD85 work, and concluded that
while needed, the approach used for [external Model] may turn out to be
"flaky" and too dependent on author interpretation. Already, [Ramp] data
for differential models is "fudged" to comply with the IBIS single-ended
derivation requirements. Arpad concurred, asking whether it was desirable to
add a "dual-use" keyword to the IBIS 4.1 specification. Further discussion
of this issue will take place at upcoming Open Forum meetings.

Finally, in discussing upcoming events, Bob Ross noted that the European
IBIS Summit is currently scheduled to take place at DATE 2004 on
February 20 in Paris.

CONCLUDING ITEMS
Michael Mirmak again thanked the presenters and NESA sponsors for their
help and support in making the Summit a success. After reminding the
participants regarding the next Open Forum teleconference, Michael closed
the IBIS Summit Meeting.

NEXT MEETING:
The next Open Forum teleconference has been scheduled for November 14
from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM US Pacific Standard Time. Votes regarding the
approval of BIRD83, BIRD84 and BIRD85 are scheduled.

============================================================================
                               NOTES

IBIS CHAIR: Michael Mirmak (916) 356-4261, Fax: (916) 377-1046
            michael.mirmak@intel.com
            Senior Analog Engineer, Intel Corporation
            M/S FM6-45
            1900 Prairie City Rd.
            Folsom, CA 95630

VICE CHAIR: Lynne Green (425) 788-0412, Fax: (425) 451-1871
            lgreen@cadence.com
            Senior Modeling Engineer, Cadence Design Systems
            320 120th Ave NE, Suite B-103, Bellevue, WA 98005-3016

SECRETARY: Randy Wolff (208) 363-1764, Fax: (208) 368-3475
            rrwolff@micron.com
            Simulation Engineer, Micron Technology, Inc.
            8000 S. Federal Way
            Mail Stop: 1-711
            Boise, ID 83707-0006
        
LIBRARIAN: Roy Leventhal (847) 590-9398
            roy.leventhal@ieee.org
            Consultant, Leventhal Design and Communications
            1924 North Burke Drive
            Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004

WEBMASTER: Syed Huq (408) 525-3399, Fax: (408) 526-5504
            shuq@cisco.com
            Manager, Hardware Engineering, Cisco Systems
            170 West Tasman Drive
            San Jose, CA 95134-1706

POSTMASTER: John Angulo (425) 497-5077, Fax: (425) 881-1008
            John_angulo@mentor.com
            Development Engineer, Mentor Graphics
            14715 N.E. 95th Street, Suite 200
            Redmond, WA 98052

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