International Business Machines Corporation

Robert J Allen

Jason D Hibbeler

Robert F Walker

Kevin W McCullen

Fook-Luen Heng

Mervyn Y Tan

John Maxwell Cohn

Xin Zhao

Vasant B Rao

Xin Yuan

Rani Narayan

Gustavo Enrique Tellez

Daniel Nelson Maynard

Evanthia Papadopoulou

Cam V Endicott

Peter Anton Habitz

Paul Steven Zuchowski

Michael S Gray

Ivan L Wemple

Yanai Danan

Mervyn Yee-Min Tan

David James Hathaway

Eric A Foreman

Vladimir P Zolotov

Kerim Kalafala

Jeffrey G Hemmett

Stephen Gerard Shuma

Natesan Venkateswaran

Debjit Sinha

Nathan C Buck

Gregory M Schaeffer

Jeffrey Paul Soreff

Sarah C Prue

Albert Manhee Chu

Scott Whitney Gould

Juergen Koehl

William C Leipold

Ronald Dennis Rose

Adam P Matheny

David J Widiger

Lewis William Dewey, Iii

Daria Rose Dooling

Ralph James Williams

Faye D Baker

Susan Elizabeth Cellier

William John Wright

Sarah C Braasch

Anthony D Hagin

Ravishankar Arunachalam

Mark Alan Lavin

Ulrich Alfons Finkler

Alexey Y Lvov

Matthew Thomas Guzowski

Robert T Sayah

Steven G Lovejoy

Peter K Chan

Sriram Peri

Steve G Lovejoy

A method of performing transistor simulation with improved sensitivity to parasitic by model order reduction in transistor-level timing is disclosed. The method includes reducing a number of derivative calculations during transistor simulation by representing parasitics as a reduced-order model, wherein the reducing includes: compressing the parasitics to a reduced-order model; simulating with load which is replaced with the reduced-order model; differentiating results of the simulation with respect to reduced-order model parameters; differentiating parameters of the reduced-order model with respect to parasitic values; differentiating the parasitic values with respect to statistical parameters; and computing the differential results of the simulation with respect to the statistical parameters via chain ruling.

Model order reduction in transistor level timing

Creating an integrated circuit with non-linear variations, the computer identifies an integrated circuit design; identifies a timing model associated with the identified integrated circuit design; defines one or more static single sided variables; defines one or more regions of one or more of the defined one or more static single sided variables that are treated linearly; defines one or more multi-sided variables based on the defined one or more regions of the one or more of the defined one or more static single sided variables; identifies one or more timing paths within the identified integrated circuit design; performs a statistical static timing analysis on the identified timing model for the identified one or more timing paths within the identified integrated circuit design utilizing the defined one or more multi-sided variables; provides one or more timing quantities that project within a multi-parameter space based on the performed statistical static timing analysis.

Multi-sided variations for creating integrated circuits

The computer identifies an integrated circuit design; identifies a timing model associated with the identified integrated circuit design; defines one or more static single sided variables; defines one or more regions of one or more of the defined one or more static single sided variables that are treated linearly; defines one or more multi-sided variables based on the defined one or more regions of the one or more of the defined one or more static single sided variables; identifies one or more timing paths within the identified integrated circuit design; performs a statistical static timing analysis on the identified timing model for the identified one or more timing paths within the identified integrated circuit design utilizing the defined one or more multi-sided variables; provides one or more timing quantities that project within a multi-parameter space based on the performed statistical static timing analysis.

Embodiments relate to multi-cycle signal identification for static timing analysis. An aspect includes identifying, in a circuit under test, a multi-cycle signal, the multi-cycle signal having a longer period than a main clock signal of the circuit under test. Another aspect includes mapping a plurality of additional signals of the circuit under test onto the multi-cycle signal, the plurality of additional signals each having a shorter period than the multi-cycle signal. Yet another aspect includes performing static timing analysis of the circuit under test based on the multi-cycle signal.

Multi-cycle signal identification for static timing analysis

Disclosed is a method for improving capacitance extraction performance in a circuit, the method including mapping, via a computing resource, a first layout including a plurality of wiring paths, selecting at least one target wire from the plurality of wiring paths, selecting at least one group of wires running orthogonally to the at least one target wire, identifying and selecting within the at least one group at least one set of two or more wires that are combinable for representation as a single merged wire, mapping a second layout, via the computing resource, and representing the at least one set of two or more wires as the single merged wire in said second layout, analyzing parasitic capacitance between the at least one target wire and the at least one group of wires using the second layout, and manufacturing the circuit using information from the analyzing of parasitic capacitance.

Process for improving capacitance extraction performance

Creating by a computer an integrated circuit with non-linear variations, the computer identifies an integrated circuit design; identifies a timing model associated with the identified integrated circuit design; defines one or more static single sided variables; defines one or more regions of the defined one or more static single sided variables that are treated linearly; defines one or more multi-sided variables based on the defined one or more regions of the defined one or more static single sided variables; identifies one or more timing paths within the identified integrated circuit design; performs a statistical static timing analysis on the identified timing model for the identified one or more timing paths within the identified integrated circuit design utilizing the defined one or more multi-sided variables; provides one or more timing quantities that project within a multi-parameter space based on the performed statistical static timing analysis.

One or more processors group a plurality of timing arcs into a plurality of equivalence classes. Each timing arc includes one or more delay tables. One or more processors generate, for at least one equivalence class of the plurality of equivalence classes, an average sensitivity to a condition by performing a weighted average on respective sensitivities of timing arcs to the condition. One or more processors determine a sensitivity of an electronic circuit to the condition based, at least in part, a match between one or more attributes of the electronic circuit and one or more attributes present in the at least one equivalence class.

Generating asserted sensitivities for statistical timing

Examples of techniques for analyzing and generating timing reports for circuits are described herein. A computer-implemented method includes splitting a netlist or cross section of a circuit into sub-circuits. The method further includes building a timing graph by combining generated timing models of the sub-circuits. The method includes determining a full set of dependencies based on each sub-circuit's dependent configuration parameters. The method also further includes generating a sample plan for each sub-circuit. The method includes receiving results from a simulation for each sub-circuit based on the sample plan for each sub-circuit. The method includes generating algebraic forms for an early delay, a late delay, and a slew by curve fitting across the configuration parameters. The method includes propagating arrival times and slew in algebraic forms throughout the timing graph. The method includes evaluating checks based on selected projections from the timing graph to find a worst slack configuration.

Timing analysis of circuits using sub-circuit timing models

A method, system and program product for migrating an integrated circuit (IC) design from a source technology without radical design restrictions (RDR) to a target technology with RDR, are disclosed. The invention implements a minimum layout perturbation approach that addresses the RDR requirements. The invention also solves the problem of inserting dummy shapes where required, and extending the lengths of the critical shapes and/or the dummy shapes to meet 'edge coverage' requirements.

Technology migration for integrated circuits with radical design restrictions

In a first aspect, an inventive apparatus for imaging a chip on a wafer includes a combined diamond chip image and kerf image having a plurality of sloped sides. The combined diamond chip image and kerf image includes a diamond chip image comprising a plurality of chip image rows that are parallel to at least one diagonal of the diamond chip image, and includes a kerf image adjacent to the diamond chip image. The kerf image comprises at least one kerf image row that is parallel to the at least one diagonal of the diamond chip image. The apparatus further includes a blocking material extending from the combined diamond chip image and kerf image to at least a periphery of an exposure field of a stepper. In a second aspect the imaging apparatus comprises an n-sided polygon-shaped combined chip image and kerf image. Also provided are inventive methods of manufacturing chips, and wafers manufactured in accordance with the inventive methods.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing diamond shaped chips

Optimizing an integrated circuit design to improve manufacturing yield using manufacturing data and algorithms to identify areas with high probability of failures, i.e. critical areas. The process further changes the layout of the circuit design to reduce critical area thereby reducing the probability of a fault occurring during manufacturing. Methods of identifying critical area include common run, geometry mapping, and Voronoi diagrams. Optimization includes but is not limited to incremental movement and adjustment of shape dimensions until optimization objectives are achieved and critical area is reduced.

IC layout optimization to improve yield

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Jericho, VT, United States of America

Robert J Allen