Agilent Technologies Integrates Device Modeling Flow With Shipment Of Newest SPICE Model Extraction And Qualification Software

Agilent Technologies Inc. recently announced shipment of the latest release of its industry-leading SPICE model extraction tool, Model Builder Program, and SPICE qualification tool, Model Quality Assurance.

MBP and MQA 2013 feature major enhancements designed to enable device modeling engineers to deliver higher-quality models to their customers. Chief among them are a fully integrated data flow across Agilent's device modeling platform and the ability to establish and enforce standard operating procedures for modeling in team environments.

"With our acquisition of Accelicon last year, we continue to expand our expertise in device modeling," said Charles Plott, director of product planning at Agilent EEsof EDA. "This expertise uniquely positions Agilent to deliver a seamless data flow from measurement to model extraction to qualification."

Key MBP Capabilities
One of MBP's new components, Model Reviewer, allows users to standardize various aspects of device modeling in team environments. Model Reviewer enables teams to standardize model extraction policies, setup of the extraction environment, data usage, parameter-range enforcement and review procedures, among other things.

"Device modeling teams are mostly concerned with model quality and team efficiency," said Xisheng Zhang, device modeling marketing manager at Agilent. "Being able to establish and enforce standard operating procedures through MBP is critical to minimizing human errors from the onset of model extraction, which significantly improves team efficiency."

Other new MBP capabilities include model extraction based on circuit-level figures of merit, built-in principal component analysis, and a GUI-based custom model extraction environment.

New MQA Features
MQA now offers full support for Agilent's GoldenGate, the industry premium RF circuit simulator, and Synopsys' FineSim tool. It also gives users the ability to benchmark SPICE libraries with various versions of a simulator, making it a breeze for simulator upgrade qualification. Additionally, a parallel-run mechanism enables MQA to deliver considerably faster performance.

"The numerous and diverse set of new capabilities in MBP and MQA reflect the latest device modeling challenges in methodology and productivity that our customers now face," said Brian Chen, device modeling product manager at Agilent. "Having these solutions in MBP and MQA 2013, readily available at users' fingertips, goes a long way in creating the highest quality models with the best efficiency."

Images of MBP and MQA 2013 are available at www.agilent.com/find/DeviceModelSW_images.

About MBP Software
MBP is a comprehensive solution that provides both automation and flexibility for high-volume, high-throughput device modeling. MBP includes powerful, built-in characterization and modeling capabilities, as well as an open interface for customizing modeling strategy. It is widely used both by semiconductor foundries and design houses to extract and customize SPICE model libraries. For more information, visit www.agilent.com/find/eesof-mbp.

About MQA Software
MQA provides fabless design companies, independent device manufacturers and foundries with a complete solution for SPICE model library validation, comparison and documentation. It has become a de facto industry standard for SPICE model quality assurance. For more information, visit www.agilent.com/find/eesof-mqa.

About Agilent EEsof EDA Software
Agilent EEsof EDA is the leading supplier of electronic design automation software for microwave, RF, high-frequency, high-speed digital, RF system, electronic system level, circuit, 3-D electromagnetic, physical design and device-modeling applications. For more information, visit www.agilent.com/find/eesof.

About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical analysis, life sciences, diagnostics, electronics and communications. The company's 20,500 employees serve customers in more than 100 countries. Agilent had revenues of $6.9B in fiscal 2012. For more information, visit www.agilent.com.