Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Hsien Yu Tseng

Sheng-Feng Liu

Chun-Wei Chang

Szu-Lin Liu

Amit Kundu

Wei-ming Chen

Tsun-Yu Yang

Wei-Ming Chen

Guan-Ruei Lu

ChihChi Hsiao

A system for evaluating a heat sensitive structure of an integrated circuit design including a memory for retrieving and storing integrated circuit design layout data, thermal data, process data, and one or more operational parameters, a processor capable of accessing the memory and identifying a target region having a nominal temperature T, a plurality of heat generating structures and/or heat dissipating structures having corresponding impact areas that encompass a portion of the target region, calculating the temperature increases and/or decreases in the target region as a result of thermal coupling between the target region and the heat generating structures and/or heat dissipating structures, and conducting one or more parametric evaluations of the target region at an adjusted evaluation temperature Tafter which a network interface transmits the result(s) of the parametric evaluation(s) for use in a design review.

Electromigration evaluation methodology with consideration of thermal and signal effects

The present disclosure provides a method and a non-transitory computer readable media for inter-metal dielectric reliability check. The method comprises: receiving an electronic layout, the electronic layout including a first plurality of electrical components in a first layer; determining an internal voltage difference within each electrical component in the first layer based on parasitic effect; generating a simulation voltage value for each electrical component in the first layer based on the internal voltage differences; and tagging a pair of electrical components in the first layer when a first voltage difference between the pair of electrical components exceeds a first voltage threshold. The first voltage difference is determined based on the simulation voltage value of each electrical component.

Methods and non-transitory computer-readable media for inter-metal dielectric reliability check

The present disclosure provides a method and an apparatus for testing a semiconductor device. The method includes providing an active area in an integrated circuit design layout; grouping the active area into a first region and a second region; calculating a first self-heating temperature of the first region of the active area; calculating a second self-heating temperature of the second region of the active area; and determining an Electromigration (EM) evaluation based on the first self-heating temperature and the second self-heating temperature.

Method and apparatus for electromigration evaluation

A method includes conducting an electromigration (EM) check process on a schematic design, conducting a mitigating process to mitigate one or more electromigration violations identified during conducting the EM check process, and generating a layout design of the schematic design after at least one iteration of a design process including the EM check process and the mitigating process. The EM check process includes selecting at least some circuits in the schematic design as selected circuits for electromigration check, and checking electromigration compliance in the selected circuits. The mitigating process includes one of modifying some circuit layout of the selected circuits, modifying the schematic design, or modifying both the schematic design and some circuit layout of the selected circuits.

Method and apparatus of electromigration check

An electromigration (EM) sign-off methodology that utilizes a system for analyzing an integrated circuit design layout to identify heat sensitive structures, self-heating effects, heat generating structures, and heat dissipating structures. The EM sign-off methodology includes a memory and a processor configured for calculating adjustments of an evaluation temperature for a heat sensitive structure by calculating the effects of self-heating within the temperature sensitive structure as well as additional heating and/or cooling as a function of thermal coupling to surrounding heat generating structures and/or heat dissipating elements located within a defined thermal coupling volume or range of the heat sensitive structures.

Electromigration evaluation methodology with consideration of both self-heating and heat sink thermal effects

A system including computer readable storage media including executable instructions and one or more processors configured to execute the executable instructions to obtain a schematic netlist and a performance specification for an integrated circuit, determine electrical constraints for nets in the schematic netlist based on the performance specification, determine physical constraints from the electrical constraints, rout the nets in the schematic netlist based on the electrical constraints and the physical constraints, and provide a data file of a layout.

Electrically aware routing for integrated circuits

A system for evaluating a heat sensitive structure of an integrated circuit design including a memory for retrieving and storing integrated circuit design layout data, thermal data, process data, and one or more operational parameters, a processor capable of accessing the memory and identifying a target region having a nominal temperature T, first and second heat generating structures within a first impact range of the target region, calculating the temperature increases ΔTand ΔTin the target region as a result of thermal coupling between the target region and the first and second heat generating structures, and conducting one or more parametric evaluations of the target region at an adjusted evaluation temperature T=T+ΔT+ΔTafter which a network interface transmits the result(s) of the parametric evaluation(s) for use in a design review.

An electromigration (EM) sign-off methodology that analyzes an integrated circuit design layout to identify heat sensitive structures, self-heating effects, heat generating structures, and heat dissipating structures. The EM sign-off methodology includes adjustments of an evaluation temperature for a heat sensitive structure by calculating the effects of self-heating within the temperature sensitive structure as well as additional heating and/or cooling as a function of thermal coupling to surrounding heat generating structures and/or heat sink elements located within a defined thermal coupling volume or range.

A method for evaluating a heat sensitive structure involving identifying a heat sensitive structure in an integrated circuit design layout, the heat sensitive structure characterized by a nominal temperature, identifying a heat generating structure within a thermal coupling range of the heat sensitive structure, calculating an operating temperature of the first heat generating structure; calculating a temperature increase or the heat sensitive structure induced by thermal coupling to the heat generating structure at the operating temperature; and performing an electromigration (EM) analysis of the heat sensitive structure at an evaluation temperature obtained by adjusting the nominal temperature by the temperature increase induced by the heat generating structure.

An electromigration (EM) sign-off methodology that analyzes an integrated circuit design layout to identify heat sensitive structures, self-heating effects, heat generating structures, and heat dissipating structures. The EM sign-off methodology includes adjustments of an evaluation temperature for a heat sensitive structure by calculating the effects of self-heating within the temperature sensitive structure as well as additional heating and/or cooling as a function of thermal coupling to surrounding heat generating structures and/or heat sink elements located within a defined thermal coupling range.

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Tongxiao, Taiwan

Hsien Yu Tseng