AI-enabled PCB layout tool

Cadence Design Systems has launched a cloud-based, AI-enabled version of its Allegro printed circuit board layout tool but has initially constrained the size of boards that can be developed.

The initial criteria is a board that would take two hours for place and route in Allegro X AI. This will accommodate small to medium sized boards, Saugat Sen, vice president of R&D at Cadence tells eeNews Europe.

This to avoid overwhelming the cloud computing resources. However the tool will speed up board designs, as a layout that previously took two weeks in a manual process can be applied in just 75 minutes in the new tool.

The tool also uses a new design flow. “Allegro X AI accepts the netlist, physical constraints and electrical constraints so it drives a methodology change that mimics the chip design, in that you have to be very specific and upfront about the constraints,” said Sen. “The engine then comes back with the components placed, autogenerated power planes and the critical nets routed. It also presents a report which has the signal integrity and power integrity using the physics engines that are embedded in the tool.”

“We will not accept a network if the filter determines that it is too complex,” he added.

It is being used by early customers such as Kioxia, Velux and Schneider Electric with a general release planned for October. “We expect that the engine will improve with every month to accept tighter constraints and there are multiple optimisations,” said Sen.

This is not a replacement of the individuals involved in the design process but an assistant to explore multiple alternatives and seed the PCB designer. “We expect that the hardware designer will use the technology to explore the solution space,” he said. 

The tool uses a combination of ‘generative AI’ and rule based automation, says Seri. “There is a significant amount of blending of algorithms for traditional design with AI techniques. It is using alternative explorations of the design configuration and we are running regular physical design algorithms to identify solutions concurrently with the AI techniques. We classify that as generative AI using statistical techniques,” he said.

This enables feasibility analysis in the early phases of design to explore a much larger design space than is possible through manual methods, driving optimization of metrics such as shorter wire lengths while adhering to the design constraints.

It also includes a learning feedback loop, but only off-line at Cadence so that designs from one customer are not being used to improve designs at another.

The physics engines in Allegro X AI do not replace the other analysis tools as the layout needs to be really quick, rather than running hours of analysis and are looking at signal integrity, EMI and design rule checking (DRC). However the physics engines result in an output that is more likely to pass the EMC sign off and thermal analysis later in the process, he says.

“We had one customer where the tool presented an alternative they had not previously considered and it still passed the downstream checks,” he said. “That took 20 minutes for the layout versus three days for human designer with no DRC flags, 100% timing and passing the power integrity checks in Celsius PowerDC Solver whereas previously it didn’t pass.

“The Allegro X AI technology reduces the placement time from days to minutes, while taking into account signal integrity and power integrity effects. The AI technology was also able to provide me with placement options that I had not considered. The technology dramatically decreases design time and will fundamentally change how we do PCB designs,” said Allan Nørgaard, CID, PCB Design at Velux in Denmark.

“At Schneider Electric, turnaround time and the quality of the end product are absolutely critical for business success. With the Allegro X AI technology from Cadence, we see a great potential to significantly shorten our development cycle. The hardware designer can make assessments on density and complexity—and adjust the electrical design to ensure a rapid and efficient completion of the design, as well as improved productivity,” said Jean-Christophe Dejean, VP PLM Processes & Governance at Schneider Electric in France.

“Designer productivity is crucial for business success at Kioxia. Our team is collaborating closely with Cadence to automate the placement and routing of IC package and PCB reference designs with the Allegro X AI technology to enable an order-of-magnitude reduction in design turnaround time,” said Chiaki Takubo, Technology Executive, Package and Test Technology at Kioxia.

www.cadence.com/go/AllegroXAI.