TSMC N6RF+ Process Node RF Design Migration Flow

The collaboration between Keysight, Synopsys, and Ansys has led to the development of a new migration workflow that integrates millimeter wave (mmWave) and RF solutions into an efficient design flow. This workflow streamlines the re-design of passive devices and design components to TSMC’s more advanced RF process, offering significant benefits to RF circuit designers.

Building upon TSMC’s Analog Design Migration (ADM) methodology, this RF design migration initiative provides additional capabilities for designers. The migration flow showcases notable power reduction for a 2.4 GHz low noise amplifier (LNA) design re-targeted to the N6RF+ process, in addition to the productivity gains offered by ADM.

Key components of the design migration flow include the ability for RF circuit designers to rapidly re-design their devices to the N6RF+ process specifications, thereby accelerating time-to-market. Keysight RFPro facilitates the parameterization of passive devices, such as inductors, and automatically generates highly accurate simulation models with layout tuned to the new process. Designers can then view the re-created device layout in Synopsys Custom Compiler, along with synthesized inductors from Ansys VeloceRF, and perform interactive EM analysis in complex wireless chips.

Sanjay Bali, Vice President Strategy and Product Management EDA Group at Synopsys, emphasized the importance of rapidly migrating designs to address the industry’s drive towards enhanced quality-of-results on TSMC’s leading process technologies. The integrated RF and analog design offering, leveraging Synopsys’ Custom Compiler, ASO.ai, and PrimeSim, enables efficient migration of designs from TSMC N16 technology platform to N6RF+.

Niels Faché, Vice President and General Manager of Keysight EDA, highlighted the challenges facing complex RF chip designs in meeting PPA requirements while adhering to new process design rules. The new workflow facilitates fast re-design in the latest TSMC N6RF+ technology for existing components originally built in N16, allowing circuit designers to leverage and reuse their libraries of intellectual property to improve ROI.

John Lee, Vice President and General Manager of the Semiconductor, Electronics, and Optics Business Unit at Ansys, emphasized the central role of electromagnetic simulation and modeling in developing accurate solutions for various applications. The partnership with Keysight, Synopsys, and TSMC enables Ansys to address challenging problems in the rapidly evolving market, providing joint customers with greater value and enhanced product outcomes.

Dan Kochpatcharin, Head of the Design Infrastructure Management Division at TSMC, expressed commitment to collaborating with Ansys, Keysight, and Synopsys to offer customers an efficient pathway to migrate their designs to more advanced processes. This collaboration aims to ensure that designs meet stringent PPA requirements, with a focus on enabling customers' next-generation designs through the Open Innovation Platform® (OIP) ecosystem.

For more information, visit the websites of the collaborating companies: Keysight, Synopsys, Ansys.