System, method and computer program product for handling small aggressors in signal integrity analysis

Abstract

A method, system and computer program product for determining aggressor-induced crosstalk in a victim net of a stage of an integrated circuit design is provided. The methodology can include combining a plurality of aggressor nets to construct a virtual aggressor net, determining a current waveform induced on the victim net by the plurality of small aggressor nets, and modeling a current waveform induced by the virtual aggressor on the victim net based on the contribution of the current waveforms determined for the plurality of small aggressor nets. In a further embodiment, the methodology can also comprise evaluating an effect of an aggressor net on a victim net; and including that aggressor net in the virtual aggressor net if its effect is below a predetermined threshold. The effect evaluated by the methodology can, for example, be the height of a glitch induced on the victim net by a transition in the aggressor net. Additionally, the aggressor net can be included in the virtual aggressor net if the height of the glitch it induces on the victim net is less than a predetermined factor of the supply voltage. Switching probability can be used to compute a 3-sigma capacitance value, and this value can be used to limit the number of small aggressors included in the virtual aggressor net. The combined currents of the aggressor in the virtual aggressor net can be modeled using a piece-wise linear analysis.