IBIS Macromodel Task Group

Meeting date: 14 nov 2006

Members (asterisk for those attending):
  Arpad Muranyi, Intel Corp.
* Barry Katz, SiSoft
  Bob Ross, Teraspeed Consulting Group
* Doug White, Cisco Systems
* Hemant Shah, Cadence Design Systems
* Ian Dodd, Mentor Graphics
* Joe Abler, IBM
  John Angulo
  John Shields, Mentor Graphics
  Ken Willis, Cadence Design Systems
* Kumar, Cadence Design Systems
* Lance Wang, Cadence Design Systems
* Michael Mirmak, Intel Corp.
* Mike LaBonte, Cisco Systems
  Paul Fernando, NCSU
* Randy Wolff, Micron Technology
  Richard Ward, Texas Instruments
  Sanjeev Gupta, Agilent
  Shangli Wu, Cadence
* Todd Westerhoff, Cisco Systems
* Walter Katz, SiSoft
  Vuk Borich, Agilent
  Vikas Gupta, Xilinx

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Review of ARs:

- Mirmak: Who has permission to access VHDL spec?
  Has anyone tried?

- Mike update macro library documentation
  not yet

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New Discussion:

Does the MeetMe phone bridge service have a mute command?
- self mute: *6

We pretty much got to the end of Kumar's presentation last time. Nothing new to present today.

Comments on Kumar's proposal:
- Ian: Mentor using pole-zero format for characterization (more accurate). Concerned because Kumar is using pulse or impulse response.
- Joe: Necessary to specify the format in the model.
- Mirmak: The more specific we make any change, the more IBIS "overhead" we go through.
- Kumar: you can't reproduce the impulse from pole/zero.
Ian: Impulse is truncated in time.
Kumar: Pole/zero is a rational approximation.
- Kumar can modify in 2 places:
  1) Can modify impulse response
  2) Can modify wave coming through channel

AR: Ian get specifics on pole/zero approach...can it be used in conjunction with the API approach being proposed?

Mirmak: If API assumes some methodology, how do we avoid issues:
- Simple method may be insufficient for "the next thing".
- Advance features favor EDA vendors who have it already, take a long time.

Ian: Kumar has given a good starting point.

Walter: Hope to have something by DesignCon.

Mirmak: We need someone to volunteer to write a BIRD.

AR: Cadence will start a BIRD.  Ian ok with Cadence making an initial proposal, then we address objections.


Recent macromodel issues on email reflector:
Walter: Revolves around how to pass parameters to SPICE
Mirmak: IBIS calls for Berkeley SPICE
Walter: EDA tools can preprocess to convert to their own SPICE
- SiSoft, Cadence, and Mentor do not object
Mirmak: IC vendors want to ship just one model that works in all tools.
Walter: how many 4.2 files out there have external circuits
  Ian: Mentor has ones written for ELDO
  There appear to be no Berkeley SPICE [External Circuit] models
Walter: defacto standard is really HSPICE
  Mirmak: gives control to Synopsys
Todd: get Synopsys to put HSPICE language in public domain
- Not as insane as it sounds.
- Arpad and Todd started to pursue, but then we switched focus to *AMS

Lance: no simulator can simulate VHDL and Verilog together???
- Ian disagrees

Todd: Cadence prefers Verilog, Mentor prefers VHDL, others can't do both at all.
- AMS people hated macro because it's not pure *AMS, others hated it because it is *AMS
- We built macro library
- A preemphasis driver was built with this library of building blocks, and that's really about it
- Do we think that semiconductor vendors will be willing to recode their models in AMS???
- Then we looked for template circuits, and found 2
- There have been VERY few models created for VHDL- or Verilog-AMS
- Now we want executables
  Mirmak: Mentor has proposed standardized encryption
  Kumar: primary concern is identifying data flow, and building simplest possible interface, with good performance

AR: Todd dig up material on public domain HSPICE syntax

Walter: nice to pass parameters for corners, but Berkeley SPICE can't do that
Mirmak: would rather use subset of "defacto" SPICE

Should there be a field that specifies which simulator an [External Circuit] is targeted for
- Could be in comments, an existing practice.

Mirmak: General knowledge of behavioral modeling is low. We shouldn't encourage SPICE.
Todd: make it painless to run SPICE, and people will be better off.
Ian: Customers want multiple languages supported.

Next week meeting cancelled, next meeting will be Nov 28.

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Next meeting: Tuesday 28 Nov 2006 12:00pm PT