( ESNUG 458 Item 9 ) -------------------------------------------- [11/16/06]
Subject: ( ESNUG 457 #2 ) The rumors are false; Magma has test, thank you
> Magma did hire a guy to spearhead their test strategy (including ATPG and
> BIST), evangelize it and try to coordinate all the R&D efforts into
> something resembling a coherent strategy. This was about 2-2.5 years ago
> now. It became evident after about 12-18 months of trying to get this
> effort going at Magma that it was never going to happen, so he jumped ship
> to Synopsys as a test AE for one of their large accounts, which speaks to
> your other rumor -- you are not tainted in SNPS' eyes if you were at
> Magma, at least not circa 12 months ago. I saw the guy at DAC and he's
> still at SNPS working for the same large account. Magma's test products
> have never materialized to my knowledge.
>
> - [ A Little Bird ]
From: Kam Kittrell <kam=user domain=magma-da got calm>
To: John Cooley <jcooley=user domain=zeroskew got calm>
Hello John,
First of all, Magma has had a talented team of engineers working on DFT
technology for several years. Logic scan insertion, repair, reordering,
and even ATPG fault coverage analysis have been important features in our
Blast Create synthesis product for more than 3 years.
In response to the rumor on whether Magma has ATPG or MBIST users, Howard
Landman helped me out by relaying his experience using our MBIST technology.
We're glad he's having success as he was one of our first engagements. We
decided at the beginning of the year to discontinue the rollout of the Blast
DFT product based on business reasons. The technology is clearly good, but
MBIST is a piece of a larger puzzle and it requires more complementing
technology for a full product launch.
Magma has always believed in providing leading edge technical solutions to
our customer, and ATPG is no different. Having said that, we don't have
an ATPG product today to announce or talk about.
Our current flow is open and flexible, enabling the integration of many
3rd party testability schemes. At the International Test Conference (ITC)
in October, we demonstrated our DFT interoperability with MagmaTies partners
Mentor Graphics, LogicVision, GeneSys Testware, and Virage Logic.
Also at ITC, we demonstrated the scan capabilities that are integrated in
our RTL-to-GDSII flow in Blast Create and Blast Fusion. Last, but not
least, we demonstrated the model-based Blast Yield TX and how it can be
used with TSMC's 65-nm design ecosystem to leverage fab-related data and
know-how to improve yield.
- Kam Kittrell
Magma Design Automation, Inc. Santa Clara, CA
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
From: John Cooley <jcooley=user domain=zeroskew got calm>
To: Kam Kittrell <kam=user domain=magma-da got calm>
> First of all, Magma has had a talented team of engineers working on DFT
> technology for several years. Logic scan insertion, repair, reordering,
> and even ATPG fault coverage analysis have been important features in our
> Blast Create synthesis product for more than 3 years.
Hi, Kam,
What do you mean by "has had"? The original ESNUG letter said your test
guys have left. Are you saying that it's a false rumor and that none have
left? Please clarify.
> Magma has always believed in providing leading edge technical solutions to
> our customer, and ATPG is no different. Having said that, we don't have
> an ATPG product today to announce or talk about.
Kam, how can you say that you don't have an ATPG product to announce when
Richard Goering wrote that piece about your own Magma ATPG tool a little
over 3 weeks ago? In the article your own Dwayne Burek goes on record
about your own ATPG tool in "alpha" right now. (It's going to target
small delay faults.) What gives?
- John Cooley
ESNUG/DeepChip.com Holliston, MA
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
From: Kam Kittrell <kam=user domain=magma-da got calm>
To: John Cooley <jcooley=user domain=zeroskew got calm>
> What do you mean by "has had"? The original ESNUG letter said your test
> guys have left. Are you saying that it's a false rumor and that none
> have left? Please clarify.
Let me see if I can clarify.
When I say "has had" a talented team of engineers working, I mean we have
had talented people still working on our DFT products and have been doing
so for a while. We have a product to show. In our times, attrition is to
be expected, but the core group and core competency is very much there and
diligently working on our DFT strategy. So yes, the rumor has no legs. As
a matter of fact we continue to add on to this core group, to bring our
broadening DFT strategy to fruition.
> Kam, how can you say that you don't have an ATPG product to announce when
> Richard Goering wrote that piece about your own Magma ATPG tool a little
> over 3 weeks ago? In the article your own Dwayne Burek goes on record
> about your own ATPG tool in "alpha" right now. (It's going to target
> small delay faults.) What gives?
Now to Richard Goering article, Magma has talked about a need for a native
ATPG solution in our RTL to GDSII flow for quite some time. In my humble
view having a technology versus having a product are two separate things.
What Dwayne was referring to in the article is a technology which is
intended to target small delay faults, which given the emerging need for
physically aware DFT solution is an approach we concur with. To enhance
our RTL-to-GDSII offering we have several technologies and concepts that
we work on and investigate, ATPG technology is one of such technologies.
Do we have a product that we can talk about? The answer is "no".
- Kam Kittrell
Magma Design Automation, Inc. Santa Clara, CA
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