As I was penning the title for this blog I realized that it must look like gibberish to anyone who doesn’t know that Tanner EDA specializes in creating tools for analog and mixed-signal ICs and MEMS design; PDK stands for Process Design Kit, X-FAB is a foundry group for analog/mixed-signal semiconductor applications, and ... so it goes.

The funny thing is that, just the other day as I pen these words, someone sent me a press release for some sort of communications-networking infrastructure something-or-other. I scanned through it and it was like reading the book "Being and Nothingness" by the French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre – each word makes sense on its own, but I've yet to decipher a complete sentence. However, we digress (just wind me up and watch me go!)

What I'm actually trying to tell you (if only I could stop waffling) is that Tanner Tools Pro is considered by many to be the software suite of choice for the design, layout and verification of analog, mixed-signal (A/MS), RF and MEMS ICs. Also that X-FAB has released two 0.18µm process design kits (PDK) for Tanner Tools Pro on X-TIC, X-FAB's online technical database.

There – that wasn't so hard, was it? I don’t know why it took me so long to spit it out. But wait, there's more...

The release of this new kit extends X-FAB’s PDK support for Tanner tools, adding X-FAB's 0.18µm processes to the range of technologies currently supported (0.35, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0µm). The new PDK will ensure a reliable and repeatable development flow and faster development cycles for analog and mixed-signal IC and MEMS designers who use Tanner Tools Pro in combination with X-FAB's 0.18µm processes.

X-FAB's 0.18µm modular analog/mixed-signal process family is based on the industrial standard one-poly-three-metal process baseline. It has a wide selection of options such as standard or low power, 1.8V core voltage with either 3.3V including RF or 5.0V I/O voltage, high voltage up to 45V and NVM options are easily combinable through the modular approach.

Tanner EDA solutions enable designers to move from concept to silicon with ease using highly cost-effective tools: Tanner Tools Pro includes S-Edit for schematic capture, T-Spice for analog circuit simulation and L-Edit for physical layout. HiPer Silicon builds on the capabilities of Tanner Tools Pro with advanced features that improve designer productivity, including the HiPer Verify foundry-compatible physical verification engine, Verilog-A simulation, an interactive autorouter, and device layout automation.

Last but certainly not least, Tanner EDA software is available on the Windows and Linux platforms.