Software addresses high-density advanced chip and board packaging flow

New software addresses the steps involved in advanced IC package design from rapid prototyping to GDS signoff. Developed by Mentor, a Siemens business, the Xpedition High-Density Advanced Packaging (HDAP) flow combines the Mentor Xpedition, HyperLynx, and Calibre technologies. The new Mentor IC package design flow is said to deliver faster, higher-quality results compared to existing HDAP methodologies and technologies. The Xpedition HDAP design environment provides early, rapid and accurate “what-if” prototype evaluations in just hours versus days or weeks compared to existing tools and processes, enabling exploration and optimization of HDAP designs before detailed implementation.

Emerging advanced packaging technologies such as fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP) present challenges to existing traditional design methodologies. The new HDAP package addresses this problem with multi-substrate integration prototyping, and detailed physical implementation with foundry/OSAT-level verification and signoff.

The new HDAP flow introduces two technologies. The first, the Xpedition Substrate Integrator tool, is a graphical, rapid virtual prototyping environment which explores and integrates heterogeneous ICs with interposers, packages, and PCBs. It provides assembly prototyping of complete cross-domain substrate systems through a rule-based methodology for optimal connectivity, performance, and manufacturability.

The second new technology is the Xpedition Package Designer tool, an HDAP design-to-mask-ready GDS output solution, which manages the physical implementation of the package. The Xpedition Package Designer tool leverages the built-in HyperLynx design rule checking (DRC) for detailed in-design checking before signoff, and the HyperLynx FAST3D package solver provides package model creation. Direct integration with the Calibre tool then provides process design kit (PDK) signoff.

The Xpedition HDAP flow is integrated with two Mentor HyperLynx technologies for 3D signal integrity (SI) and power integrity (PI), and in-process design rule checking (DRC). Package designers can simulate SI/PI 3D models using the HyperLynx FAST 3D field solver for extraction and analysis. The HyperLynx DRC tool easily identifies and resolves substrate-level DRC errors, typically finding 80-90% of the problems before final tape-out and sign-off verification.

When integrated with the Xpedition Package Designer tool, the Calibre 3DSTACK technology provides 2.5D/3D package physical verification. IC package designers can perform signoff design rule checking (DRC) and layout-versus-schematic (LVS) checking of complete multi-die systems at any process node, without breaking current tool flows or requiring new data formats, significantly reducing time to tapeout.

Mentor has also launched an outsourced assembly and test (OSAT) Alliance program, a global design and supply chain resource for fabless customers to ease the adoption of emerging HDAP technologies. The OSAT Alliance Program includes proven design flows, toolkits, and recommended best practices for verification and signoff processes to create HDAP projects.

The Xpedition HDAC solution is available today. For additional product information, go to the website: https://www.mentor.com/pcb/ic-packaging.