CR-5000 Lightning
Integrated PCB Design Simulation and Analysis Software
As an integral part of the CR-5000 tool suite, CR-5000 Lightning is the key to getting rapid, accurate results, coupled with first-rate signal integrity and EMC. This powerful PCB design simulation and analysis software allows you to realize your PCB design more rapidly, while maintaining signal integrity (SI) and EMC. You can carry out simulation and routing according to the application constraints and share information via a single constraint database. The front-loaded design and analysis that is facilitated by CR-5000 Lightning means you can reduce design cycle time by weeks. High-speed design issues are resolved early, not by find-and-fix, through tools designed for carrying out complex routing and analysis in a straightforward, efficient manner.
The direct simulation links, Lightning Si-Prolog and Lightning SI-Epilog, embedded within Design Gateway and CR-5000 Board Designer, enable you to check simulation results for both proposed and routed net topology instantly, without switching applications.
Front-loaded design and analysis yields first-rate quality and shortest overall design cycles. Using the completely integrated approach for high-speed PCB design that CR-5000 Lightning provides, you benefit from unified and shared design constraints, eliminating complexities associated with separate design and control for activities such as circuit design, floor planning and routing. Synchronization of common analysis engines, editors and viewers makes a front-loaded design and analysis process easy to achieve.
Routing symmetry, and the resulting electrical symmetry, make electrical performance predictable and reliable. New routing features have been pioneered in Lightning with the introduction of concepts such as trunking and intelligent design objects.(IDOs). Trunking lets you route buses, groups of signals and differential pairs on multiple layers as single intelligent objects, thus maximizing routing symmetry and minimizing skew. Connections to component pins at trunk ends can be autorouted dynamically, and adapt in real time to your interactive trunk routing. You can easily connect other signals to a trunk using intelligent T-in and T-out. IDO’s are also used for lengthening patterns; you can reshape them, automatically avoiding obstacles, while maintaining the correct delay. Designing tightly constrained, balanced H-trees becomes a straightforward process using the H-tree router, which provides an interactive routing solution for this commonly used topology. Length and skew control is achieved using the new interactive lengthening tool which maximizes the exploitation of available real estate.
Lightning integrates Zuken's industry-leading router with powerful simulation tools to enable fast and efficient design of high-speed electronic products. Its in-depth analysis and what-if capabilities, available throughout the design process, allows you to conduct trade-offs between SI parameters such as crosstalk, timing or EMI requirements against mechanical and thermal constraints. Additionally, EMC and power integrity analysis are possible at the routing stage, with easy-to-interpret feedback directly into the routing application, such as the color-coded voltage map showing possible unwanted antennas.
Why Lightning?
The increase in electronics design complexity resulting from a growth in density, miniaturization and multi-functionality of products has resulted in a mass rise in high speed, high gate, high pin count devices that create parasitic effects and routing congestion, driving the requirement for designers to be highly skilled in high-density design and manufacturing processes.
At the same time, the need to achieve front-loaded, right-the-first-time design means you need consistent applications and analysis from pre-design what-if scenario analysis right through to finished board.
Zuken has based this high-speed design environment on the following key concepts, necessary for effective, timely, and reliable creation of high-speed designs:
1. Unified Constraints
Use of unified and shared design constraints eliminates the complexities associated with separate constraint sets and provides control for activities such as circuit design, floor planning and board layout.
2. Process Orientated
Unification and communication between board design and system design with high-speed constraints and analysis enables a process-oriented method of development.
3. Unified Analysis Engine
Sharing the same analysis engine throughout ensures consistency and compatibility of results, eliminating mistakes due to misinterpretation of differently-presented data.
4. Frontloaded Verification
Frontloading of verification improves design quality and faster time to market. In addition to SI analysis at all stages of design, EMC and power integrity analysis are possible at the routing stage. Problems that were previously impossible to check until prototyping can be verified and resolved one or two stages earlier – bringing quality forward in your process. This not only assists engineers to meet important electrical and mechanical constraints, but also speeds up the process to final product specification. Design parameters are followed throughout the design process to ensure manufacturability.
5. Combined Technology
Combined unique technology provides effective handling of complex multi-board designs at the system interface level, meaning the design of items such as cross-board differential pairs can be verified concurrently with board design.
Using conventional know-how is no longer enough to achieve designs that meet specifications demanded by global customers. Gaining the knowledge and experience to be a full fledged high-speed designer can take years. Having the technology that is at the cutting edge of innovation will help you adapt to the challenges of today and prepare for those of tomorrow.