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EDA chip design software has been cut off, what else can domestic chips have?
2022-08-17

Recently, following Biden's signing of the Chip and Science Act restricting Chinese semiconductors, the United States has implemented export controls on advanced technologies.

Among them, EDA design software, known as the mother of chips, is listed as one of the technology export controls.


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What is EDA software?


EDA, also known as Electronic Design Automation, is known as the "mother of chips".


It is actually a tool software, similar to commonly used CAD software and office software.


The difference is that it is specifically designed for IC chip design.


The strength of EDA is that electronic designers use it to design electronic systems, starting from concepts, algorithms, protocols, etc., and can automatically process the entire process of circuit design, performance analysis, and designing IC or PCB layouts.


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It can be said that using EDA for chip design can achieve twice the result with half the effort.


The Current Situation of EDA Design Software at Home and Abroad


According to media reports, the current global EDA software is mainly monopolized by three American companies, including Cadence, Synopsys, and Mentor, with a market share of over 70% globally and over 80% domestically.


Undoubtedly, EDA design software has a significant impact on domestic manufacturers.


But according to media reports, there is actually no need to be too pessimistic.


Although there is no complete and systematic EDA design software, some companies have design software that is at the forefront of the industry in specific fields.


For example, Huada Jiutian in China supports the 5nm process with its digital circuit simulation EDA tool technology, while other analog circuit EDA tools support the 28nm process; Domestic storage EDA manufacturer Galen Electronics can support advanced process nodes such as 7nm/5nm/3nm and various semiconductor process routes such as FinFET and FD-SOI in device modeling and circuit simulation tools; And another EDA company, Silixin, mainly focuses on front-end verification of digital chips, and its related EDA products can support 10nm.


However, for more advanced processes above 5nm, we still have to rely on EDA software.


Write at the end


As a mature IC chip design software, the importance of EDA software in chip design is self-evident. The inclusion of EDA in advanced technology export controls by the United States not only indicates that the United States continues to implement conservative policies towards leading technologies, but also further demonstrates that the development of core technologies still depends on oneself. Only by mastering the core technologies of the industry can one have a say in the industry.