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40 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2024 Feature Q&A With John Park CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS For years, Cadence Design Systems has been developing EDA tools that enable the design of ICs and PCBs. Now, as systems continually become more complex, the lines are blurring between these disciplines, and EDA compa- nies are providing designers of PCBs and ICs the ability to understand what's happening upstream and downstream. We asked John Park, product management group director for advanced IC packaging at Cadence, to discuss this ongoing convergence of domains, as well as what it all means to designers and design engineers. Andy Shaughnessy: We're seeing more technologists pointing out the need for PCB designers to focus on silicon to systems. What does that term mean to an EDA company like Cadence? John Park: We would call this cross-domain co-design. Dealing with the complexity and costs of electronic systems, the over-the-wall approach to design leads to project delays and higher costs. It's critical that IC designers col- laborate with the packaging team and the PCB layout teams to create a fully optimized system at a lower cost. PCB layout designers are now influencing the package pinouts of large BGA/ LGA packages. is can lead to better system- level signal quality, better power delivery, and fewer layers required to achieve these per- formance objectives. is can be especially true for very complex PCB form factors. is means two things: 1) Providing our custom- ers with a common system collaboration and optimization tool across the IC design, pack- age design, and PCB layout; 2) Seamless data exchange between the design tools, including Cross-domain Design: The Key to Managing Complex Methodologies Figure 1: 3D system-level design aggregation and optimization.