Cadence Design Systems, Inc.

Nishath Verghese

Li-Fu Chang

Kenneth Tseng

Richard P Rouse

Haizhou Chen

Igor Keller

Hong Zhao

DFM systems are provided that incorporate manufacturing variations in the analysis of integrated circuits by calculating predicted manufacturing variations on the shapes of interconnects and devices of the drawn layout of a circuit design. The shape variation on interconnects is converted to variations in resistor-capacitor (RC) parasitics. The shape variation on devices is converted to variations in device parameters. The variation in device parameters and wire parasitics is converted to changes in timing performance, signal integrity, and power consumption by determining the impact of device parameter and wire parasitic variations on the behavior of each instance of a standard cell. The results from these analyses are integrated back into the design flow as incremental delay files (timing), noise failures and buffer insertion/driver resizing commands (noise), and leakage power hotspots and cell substitution commands (power consumption).

Timing, noise, and power analysis of integrated circuits

A method to analyze and correct dynamic power grid variations in an IC includes performing a dynamic power grid analysis of the circuit, identifying an excessive dynamic power grid voltage fluctuation from the analysis, and modifying the circuit to reduce the excessive dynamic power grid fluctuation.

Method to analyze and correct dynamic power grid variations in ICs

Modeling device variations in integrated circuit design

A method of delay change determination in an integrated circuit design including a stage with a victim net and one or more aggressor nets capacitively coupled thereto, the method comprising: determining a nominal (noiseless) victim net signal transition; determining a noisy victim net signal transition; and determining a delay change based upon nominal and noisy victim signal transition arrival times at a victim net receiver output.

Robust calculation of crosstalk delay change in integrated circuit design

A system, method, and computer program accurately models circuit parameter variation for delay calculation. For any given circuit parameter value, a cell is characterized at just three values in the circuit parameter range. An interpolation process generates an equation to calculate delay using the characterization data from the three circuit parameter values. This delay equation calculates the delay for any value in the circuit parameter range. Similar methodology is used to model simultaneous variation of two circuit parameters. The cell is characterized at just six circuit parameter pairs to interpolate the delay equation for any circuit parameter pair in the characterized ranges. This methodology can be extended to accommodate variation of multiple circuit parameters using similar interpolation techniques.

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Nishath Verghese