Independent foundry TowerJazz (Nasdaq: TSEM; TASE: TSEM) said today that its has joined a semiconductor industry group which has devised the first open standard for interoperable Process Design Kits (iPDKs) for analog/mixed-signal designs.
The IPL (interoperable PDK libraries) Alliance, comprised of major foundry companies, is an organization chartered with establishing an interoperable custom design ecosystem. Its iPDK is based on the OpenAccess database and uses standard languages and unified architecture that ensure interoperability among all EDA vendor tools. By only needing to develop a single process design kit for each process node, designers can reduce development costs, shorten design cycles.
TowerJazz plans to develop iPDKs that are derived from this standard. The benefits of iPDKs for customers over traditional proprietary PDKs include improved performance, increased reuse and portability through use of standards and broader EDA tool support. TowerJazz plans to offer the first iPDK by June 2010.
IPL Alliance president, and Synopsis strategic alliance manager Jingwen Yuan said, "Standardization can reduce PDK development cost while providing designers quicker access to complex process technologies.”
TowerJazz shares closed yesterday at $1.60, giving a market cap of $310.78 million. The shares ended 2009 at $0.97.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 10, 2010
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