March 26, 2012 -- Triad Semiconductor, Inc. and Mentor Graphics Corp. today announced a new approach to low-cost, mixed-signal IC design with the introduction of ViaDesigner. This offering enables new IC development in two to six months, allows respins in less than four weeks, and can radically reduce the cost and risk typically associated with custom mixed-signal IC design.

ViaDesigner is a new EDA tool that lets system-level engineers, who have no previous IC design experience, design their own mixed-signal configurable ASICs. This new approach to IC design is built on comprehensive system-level design technology from Mentor Graphics and Triad's intelligent ViaASIC library wizards. Triad Semiconductor is a supplier of low-cost mixed-signal via-configurable arrays, known as ViaASICs.

The foundation for ViaDesigner is the SystemVision design environment by Mentor Graphics, which seamlessly merges design capture, Spice simulation, digital simulation, and high-level VHDL-AMS behavioral modeling into a unified design flow. Triad's ViaDesigner tunes and extends the SystemVision environment by adding a set of ViaASIC library wizards that help the user design sophisticated mixed-signal circuits while freeing the designer from the tedium and expertise required of full-custom IC layout. ViaDesigner output is mapped to a ViaASIC utilizing Triad's ViaPath mixed-signal aware place-and-route software.

ViaDesigner, coupled with ViaASIC technology, provides designer's with a low-cost way to combine precision analog functions, data converters, ARM processors, custom digital logic, non-volatile memory and power management into their own optimized ICs.

"Full custom mixed-signal IC design will always be hard work and quite frankly looks a bit like magic," says Jim Kemerling, Triad CTO. "The beauty and power of ViaDesigner is that we've captured decade's worth of custom IC design know-how into ViaASIC library wizards, freeing system-level designers from many of the low-level chip design issues."