LSI Logic, Synopsys spurred by user integration

Electronic News, May 2, 1994

MILPITAS, CALIF.--With their recent introduction of jointly-developed ASIC design capabilities and a roadmap for additional capabilities being disclosed (EN, April 25), LSI Logic and Synopsys say their efforts are driven largely by pressing demands from a common customer base--evidenced by an estimated 200 companies currently using and integrating Synopsys high-level design automation (HLDA) tools with LSI's CMOS silicon.

Wilf Corrigan, chairman and CEO of LSI Logic, and Aart de Geus, president and CEO of Synopsys said in a joint interview with Electronic News that the planned 10-year partnership is achieving the initial goals spurred by both companies' recognition of a developing gap between EDA tools and ASIC process technology.

"We were driven into this because there were very real customer problems," Mr. Corrigan said. "Synopsys had installed their software at 90 percent of our customers and we were having a hell of a job dealing with the output that was coming out from the Synopsys software. In most cases, we felt the customer was blaming us and we would turn around and say 'It must be that Synopsys software that's giving you those problems.' Finally, we said 'We've got a joint problem here,' and that's how we got this long list of deliverables. And, as we've been working along the way, we've been fixing individual customer problems."

"I don't think most people realize the acceleration that's taking place in process complexity," Mr. Corrigan added. "In the previous period of 13 years, from 1981 to 1994, there was a 300 times increase in complexity, from 5,000 gates to 1.5 million gates. You've got to assume that by the year 2000 you're going to be dealing with probably 50 million transistors on a chip, maybe 100 million transistors. You can easily be dealing with 10 million to 20 million gates, and I don't think any of us know how to solve that issue in any kind of automatic design fashion. That's the sort of issues we want to address."

Mr. de Geus said his company experienced similar problems and he quipped that Synopsys employees used to blame LSI's silicon.

"The key comment gets back to his phenomenal rate of change," Mr. de Geus said. "If the rate of change is so strong, one realizes that the attraction between the companies becomes absolutely vital in order to provide that rate of change to the end-customer. Having the technology grow at that speed doesn't do anything for the customer if there is this huge gap. As Wilf has communicated, LSI used to close the gap on its own. Now it has chosen to close the gap together with some partners and we are a key partner in this design methodology aspect for LSI."

Last year, LSI introduced its 500K process technology, capable of doing up to 1.5 million gates (EN, Nov. 15, 1993). Earlier this year, Mr. Corrigan revealed the 500K rollout was ahead of schedule and LSI expected to ship the first customer designs before mid-year (EN, Feb. 21).

Mr. Corrigan also has said that partnerships such as the one with Synopsys and a similar 10-year agreement with Cadence Design Systes (EN, Dec. 6, 1993). are critical to LSi's continued growth.