FAQ's

•        What is Opal?

–       Open, publicly available resource guide for IBIS-AMI

–       Best development practices & examples

–       Opal AMI Parameters to improve accuracy

•        Why should I care?

–       Improves model quality & portability

–       Defines new features that improve accuracy

–       Document is available for free

•        Does Opal supersede IBIS 5.0?

–       Absolutely NOT

–       Opal is based on IBIS 5.0

–       Opal requires best use of IBIS 5.0 syntax

–       Opal AMI Parameters improve accuracy where needed

•        What does Opal stand for?

–       It isn’t an acronym and doesn’t stand for anything

–       Existing high-speed electrical standards use
geological names (e.g. Touchstone™)

–       You can think of it as Open algorithmic if you prefer,
but that’s not how we came up with the name

•        If Opal is really open, why is Opal trademarked?

–       Opal is really open

–       There is precedent for public contributions to IBIS
that are trademarked (e.g. Touchstone™)

–       SiSoft is following this precedent 

•        Will Opal models work with my EDA tool?

–       Opal models are IBIS 5.0 models; any EDA tool that supports IBIS 5.0 will run an Opal model

–       Other EDA tools can support Opal AMI Parameters
without restrictions or license from SiSoft

–       SiSoft’s QCD is the current Opal reference platform

•        Does the IBIS Committee recommend Opal?

–       Opal is based on IBIS 5.0

–       Opal AMI Parameters are compliant with IBIS 5.0

–       Opal submitted to IBIS for consideration

•        Where can I find out more?

–       Opal document on SiSoft website: www.sisoft.com/opal

•        Is Opal SiSoft proprietary?

–       NO

•        Isn’t this just a SiSoft ploy?

–       NO: Users need advanced features NOW, and each tool has
       been using different syntax. Something needs to be done.

–       NO: SiSoft is committed to open standards and IBIS.
       Opal has been submitted to IBIS for use as IBIS sees fit

•        Who controls Opal?

–       There’s nothing to control. Opal is a set of guidelines that have been published & submitted to IBIS. Review and discussion will occur through the normal IBIS channels.

•        So …
        SiSoft does all this work and then just gives it away for free?

–       YES

•        Why?

–       Because proliferation of different EDA-specific syntax has caused confusion and slowed adoption of IBIS-AMI. SiSoft is committed to IBIS-AMI as an open standard. Opal allows both continued innovation and standardization.