University of Toronto

Cadence University Program Member

• Cadence software in action at The University of Toronto

Cadence software is in use at the University of Toronto, mainly in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering . The VLSI Research Group, composed of researchers from various Groups within ECE ( Electronics and Computer and Energy Systems Groups) investigates aspects of VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration, or Microelectronics) technology and its impact on modern electronic device, circuit and system design, including the development of software and hardware for design automation as well as the implementation of large electronic systems on silicon.

A broad variety of Cadence software is available for teaching and research, including

• the Custom Integrated Circuits tools, used for design entry, analog and mixed-signal simulation, and verification;
• the Digital Integrated Circuits tools, used for synthesis, place-and-route, design for manufacturing, signal integrity, and formal verification; verification
• the Verification tools, used for formal verification and simulation verification
• Silicon-Package-Board (SPB) tools, used for planning, design, and analysis of printed circuit boards used for high-speed applications
• System-in-Package tools, used for planning, design, and simulation of multi-die systems within a single package

Graduate and undergraduate level courses in which Cadence software is used extensively include

• ECE 412S: Analog Signal Processing Circuits
• ECE 437F VLSI Technology
• ECE 1352F Analog Circuit Design I
• ECE 1365S High Frequency Integrated Circuits
• ECE 1371S Advanced Analog Circuits
• ECE 1388F VLSI Design Methodology
• ECE 1390F Selected Topics in Circuits and Systems: Wireless RF IC
• ECE 1392 Integrated Circuits for Digital Communications
• ECE 1394 Technical Management of Modern IC Design
• ECE 1396 Analog Integrated Systems

In addition, Cadence software is used extensively in undergraduate projects and in graduate research related to thesis projects using technology design kits accessible through the Canadian Microelectronics Corporation, MOSIS, CMP (Circuits Multi-Projets), or licensed directly from corporations which provide access to some of their fabrication facilities. .

Some specific research projects in which Cadence software has been used recently include

• design of analog CMOS building blocks for telecommunications applications (CDMA, wireless ATM, fiber optics)
• circuits for personal communications systems
• logic-enhanced memories for telecommunications and signal processing applications
• rapid analog and mixed-signal system prototyping
• A/D and D/A circuits
• current-mode filtering for high-frequency applications