IBIS Macromodel Task Group

Meeting date: 04 Dec 2007

Members (asterisk for those attending):
* Ambrish Varma, Cadence Design Systems
* Arpad Muranyi, Mentor Graphics Corp.
  Barry Katz, SiSoft
* Bob Ross, Teraspeed Consulting Group
  David Banas, Xilinx
  Donald Telian, consultant
  Doug White, Cisco Systems
  Essaid Bensoudane, ST Microelectronics
  Ganesh Narayanaswamy, ST Micro
* Hemant Shah, Cadence Design Systems
* Ian Dodd
  Joe Abler, IBM
* John Angulo, Mentor Graphics
  John Shields, Mentor Graphics
  Ken Willis, Cadence Design Systems
  Kumar, Cadence Design Systems
  Lance Wang, Cadence Design Systems
  Luis Boluna, Cisco
* Michael Mirmak, Intel Corp.
* Mike LaBonte, Cisco Systems
  Mike Steinberger, SiSoft
  Patrick O'Halloran, Tiburon Design Automation
  Paul Fernando, NCSU
* Radek Biernacki, Agilent (EESof)
* Randy Wolff, Micron Technology
  Ray Comeau, Cadence Design Systems
  Richard Ward, Texas Instruments
  Sanjeev Gupta, Agilent
  Shangli Wu, Cadence
  Stephen Scearce, Cisco Systems
  Syed Huq, Cisco Systems
  Syed Sadeghi, ST Micro
* Todd Westerhoff, SiSoft
* Terry Jernberg
  Vikas Gupta, Xilinx
  Vuk Borich, Agilent
* Walter Katz, SiSoft

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Call for patent disclosure:

No one declared a patent.

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Opens:

- Michael M: Intel will be unable to offer LiveMeeting service
  - Migrating to 2.7 in about a month
  - Collaboration service will cost money

- Arpad: How to we manage time for ATM vs. ICM discussion?
  - All key ICM members are here
  - will discuss later

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Review of ARs:

- EDA vendors: meet to decide differential BIRD direction
  - TBD

- Walter coordinate completion of true diff BIRD draft
  - In progress

- Michael M. draft Eye keywords for true diff BIRD
  - 

- Randy draft derating keywords for true diff BIRD
  - TBD

- Arpad:  Write parameter passing syntax proposal (BIRD draft)
  for *-AMS models in IBIS that is consistent with the
  parameter passing syntax of the AMI models
  - TBD

- TBD:    Propose a parameter passing syntax for the SPICE
  - [External ...] also?
  - TBD

- Arpad:  Review the documentation (annotation) in the macro libraries.
  - Deferred until a demand arises or we have nothing else to do

-------------
New Discussion:

Michael Mirmak presentation: icm-ibis-links-summary:
- Slide 8:
  - Arpad: would this allow forking and joining?
    - Michael M: No
  - Arpad: What if one pin has multiple buffers through [External Circuit]?
    - Michael M: May have to tweak some assumptions, but not syntax.
- Slide 9:
  - Many people like IBIS buffers but want [External Circuit] for more
    complex interconnect modeling.
- Slide 5:
  - Bob: We could break 1-to-1 association for [External Model]
  - Arpad: This is like Walter's proposal to restructure hierarchy.
    - Makes more sense to instantiate buffers from interconnect.
    - Bob: Could instantiate B element like HSPICE
- Walter: Package is like a board, with pins, die, resistors, caps.
  - An EBD file seems to have what we need.
  - John: ICM file could refer to pads on 1 side, pins on the other.
  - Michael M: Could tweak EBD to do this.
    - Some vendors do this now.
  - Arpad: IBIS mostly contains buffers.
    - IBIS has almost no elements that give connectivity.
    - We may be making a mistake trying to make connections in IBIS.
  - Michael M: One file has to point to the others.
    - The advantage of IBIS is that it gives "one-stop shopping".
  - Bob: Can ICM be used on the die side?
    - Or could ICM "reach inside" the package?
  - John: The look and feel is awkward when the pin list is in an ICM file.
  - Arpad: One problem is that pin the list is doing 2 functions:
    - Instantiation of buffers.
    - Connectivity.
  - Todd: We need an easy way to find the right buffer for a pin.
    - Too hard to walk through interconnect to find out.
    - Need mapping data to make it easy to find logical connections.
    - We would also want ICM for power distribution.
  - Walter: We have series elements, multiple drops, much like a DIMM
    - Michael M: Do we need SPICE?
    - Walter: it's a black box, but we need mapping on the outside.
  - Arpad: ICM should be at same hier level as [Model]
  - Angulo: Could extend circuit call to call models
    - Bob: Need to have logical connections, as Todd pointed out
  - Arpad: Could have shorting map & instantiation list
    (drew a new slide in the presentation)
  - Radek: Could use same mechanism as for [Model Selector]
    - Pin reference points to a keyword with multiple instances
  - John: We need to list pros and cons of these approaches
  - Bob: Has to be a pin-only interface that matches a part.
    - Tool has to automatically decide which pins to drive
  - Arpad: We need to get this in writing.
    - The ATM meeting is the right forum.

- Arpad: Not sure if Richard Mellitz can make it next week.

AR: Michael M. sketch new IBIS interconnect plan

Next meeting: 11 Dec 2007 12:00pm PT