Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Integrated circuits, IC design
IC design: CAD tools, a
design flow, design rules
pre-fabrication, pre-design,
standard cell design
http://www.eet.bme.hu/~poppe/miel/en/17-ICdesign2.ppt
http://www.eet.bme.hu
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Manufacturing and design
►
Manufacturing plants (fabs) are more and more expensive
 Order of magnitude of billion US $ (huge CapEx costs)
 Less and less advanced fabs world-wide
►
Using the processes is getting also more expensive
 Due to costs of masks, NRE (non-recurring engineering cost) of the
advanced IC-s is increasing
►
Few fabs – many designers
 waferless fab – e.g. Silicon Labs, Duolog
Design and manufcaturing are strictly separated, but for
proper design one has to be aware of the basics of the
manufacturing processes and the physical operation of the
devices.
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Ways of reducing costs
► Pre-design
 Example: standard cell design (see details later)
Essentially:
► Pre-fabrication
We work with pre-design circuit elements
(both in terms of schematics and layout).
(see also pre-fab buildings)
 Extreme example of the pre-fab principle for digital
circuits: FPGA (Altera, Xilinx)
FPGA = field programmable gate array
It’s a matrix of logic gates with user programmable interconnections
Includes everything which is needed for a digital circuit. The NRE
of manufacturing is distributed over among a huge number of
manufactured IC-s. Costs of individual circuit design are only the
cost of preparing a HDL description of the circuit.
Most popular realization technique today.
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Ways of reducing costs
► MPW
– multi-project wafer
 One wafer – joint manufacturing of multiple designs:
typically 10-20 designs on the same wafer
 Individual design
 Individual fabrication
 costs (NRE-s): 10-20 fold reduction per design
 prototyping / small volume production
See details later
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
CAD tools in VLSI design
Simulator:
Representation:
Behavioral description
System simulator
Abstraction level
System level design
Specification in VHDL or
in Verilog
Synthesis
Logic level design
Logic simulation
Structural description
Layout generation
Timing
parameters
Circuit simulator
Layout description
Device parameters
Schematic editor
Transistor level design
Layout editor
Design rules
Physical
device
simulation
Process
and
device
design: TCAD tools used in Process
siliconsimulation
foundries.
Ordinary designers do not use such tools.
1-12-2009
Optimization
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
CAD tools in VLSI design
►
Circuit entry
 Textual: using hardware description languages or HDLs (e.g.: Verilog,
VHDL)
• behavioral description (Verilog, VHDL, SystemC)
• structural description (Verilog, VHDL)
 Graphical: schematic entry (structural description)
►
Simulation (on all abstraction levels)
 system level, gate level logic, transistor/circuit
 results visualization tools
 tools for conceptual design, physical design verification tools
►
►
High level synthesis: behavioral → RTL → structural
Layout synthesis
On all abstraction levels
a given representations of the design – data bases
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Technology independence
The elements of CAD frameworks listed do
not show any dependence on the
realization technology!
How is it possible?
► IC process design – application (circuit) design: strictly
separated.
► Link between them: design rules, device parameters.
What are the consequences of this?
► Open design frameworks
(the same software for various processes, realization mode, e.g. Mentor Graphics
for ICs and FPGAs).
►
Digital IC design does not need deep knowledge of
microelectronics. (But analog design does!)
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Design rules
► Simple
geometrical rules regarding the realization of
the layout
► Depend on the minimal feature size (MFS)
► Typical examples:
 Minimal sizes of shapes on different masks
 Minimal distances between two shapes on the same mask
or on two different masks
 Minimal overlaps of shapes on two masks
 etc
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
 based design rules
►
based rules:
= 2(resolution of the process, MFS)
The rules – as geometrical data – are defined in terms of 
The layout shapes are also aligned to a grid with a size of 
► Advantage:
 easier porting of a layout to another process with a
different MFS
 easier scaling down of a layout (in case of advanced
process one has to be careful with scaling)
since only the value of  has to be redefined.
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Typical  based rules
► width
of the active zone (doped region): 2
► spacing between shapes on active layer: 3 (due
to the depletion layer)
2
3
► poly-Si:
line width, spacing: 2
► metallization lines’ width, spacing: 3 (due to
oxide steps / step coverage)
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Typical  based rules
► size
of contact windows: 2
► Contact window – metal spacing: 

2
► gate
overlap over active, etc.
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
The process flow of
the IC design
►
►
►
►
►
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Specs
Pre-fabrication, pre-design
The design flow – through the example of
standard cell design
Hierarchical design (top-down, bottom-up)
Global layout: floorplan
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Specification – first design step
► Technical
specification (global)
 What is the very function that we want to realize in
electronics? (E.g. digital control of a model railway layout)
• Create a system model e.g. in UML
► Financial
aspects
 What is the final product where the IC will be used?
 What is cost proportion from the cost budget of the final
product?
 Are there any cost limits?
• E.g. pocket calculator – most of the costs is related to the
enclosure, keyboard, display
► Other
aspects
 E.g. copy safe solution is needed (military/aerospace or
other high added value electronics)
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Specification – first design step
► Other
aspects (cont.)
 Small space (see model railway - decoder should fit even
into an N or Z scale loc)
 Minimal power consumption: battery operated devices,
hand-held devices – see laptop, mobil (low power design)
 Low supply voltage – e.g. 1.5V (low voltage design)
 competitiveness
• time-to-market
• technological advantage
 Vulnerability to other vendors
• E.g. FPGA based design – is the given FPGA still available?
• Question of 2nd sourcing
► Standards
 E.g. in some aerospace applications no volatile devices
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Final specification, phase 1
► Decide
what will be analog, what will be digital
 E.g. control of a model railway layout:
• digital IC – multiple analog circuitry around  different functions
– Loc decoder,
– Switching point decoder,
– Signal decoder
► In
case of digital components: HW-SW co-design
and partitioning (considering yet other cost factors
and cost functions)
► Optimize major parameters of digital HW such as
 Width of data and address buses,
 Sizing memories, etc.
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Final specification, phase 2
► Specs
of major HW components fixed in an universal
way: describe in HDL
 Behavioral description – completely independent of the
realization mode
• This is the exact specification of the component
• Suitable for formal verification:
– Does it really do what we imagined?
 This is turned into a structural description (manually or
through synthesis) kézzel vagy szintézissel) – this still can
be independent of the final realization mode
 And finally we describe how the designed module has to
be tested (prepare a so called test bench – description of
stimuli used in logic simulation)
E.g. US DoD also requires these, all given in VHDL
► IP
is described in a technology independent way
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Choice of realization mode
► What
is it influenced by?
 Expertise of the designers available
 Available design tools
 Non-technical aspects:
• Financial and time constraints, need for copy safe solution, control
of production through the ownership of a key component,
competitiveness, etc.
E.g. :
• Prototype urgently needed – FPGA
• Large volume (100k pcs) is planned – dedicated (custom) IC
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Example: signal processing
S&H
►
►
A/D
A()


A() purely analog realization
or digital filtering: from A() we create its Z-transform
 storage/delay units
 multipliers
 adders
►
D/A
Realization mode:
The design process can be fully
automated
 DSP + software
• flexibile, easy to realize other transfer characteristics
• not copy-safe, volatile, possibly complex environment
 Dedicated hardware:
• Storage/delay – shift register, adder/multiplier – combinational logic
– FPGA – is also reprogrammable
– Dedicated IC – frozen architecture
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Example: signal processing
►
►
►
A()  Z(n) – automatic
Z(n)  modules – automatic
or digital filtering: from A() we create its Z-transform
 storage/delay units
 multipliers
 adders
►
Realization mode:
 DSP + software
• flexibile, easy to realize other transfer characteristics
• not copy-safe, volatile, possibly complex environment
 Dedicated hardware:
• Storage/delay – shift register, adder/multiplier – combinational logic
– FPGA – is also reprogrammable
– Dedicated IC – frozen architecture – there are furthere choices here as well:
» element matrix design
» standard cell design
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Pre-fabrication – smaller costs
►
►
►
General principle in the industry (see also the construction/building
industry – pre-fab houses),
Reduction of the NRE per single unit
In Microelectronics:
 Pre fabricate as many things as possible
• Pre fabrication on Si wafer:
– except the last metallization pattern wafer completely processed (1 mask is needed only)
– pre-fabricated elements (transistors or even complete logic gates) in a matrix arrangement:
array type (element matrix) circuits
» MOS transistors – ULA (uncommitted logic array), assuming nMOS process
» gate array – GA, in CMOS
» final circuit: realization of interconnection between matrix elements by means of the
mask of the last metallization pattern
» problem: element utilization, costs, turnaround time – nowadays not popular
• completely pre-fabricated, packaged IC
– programmable devices:
» CTRL, DSP, PLA, EPROM, FPGA (field programmable GA)
» cost effective and flexible solutions
 Nowadays FPGAs tend to dominate towards custom ICs, since NRE-s of
custom ICs are bery high, therefore large manufacturing volumes are
economical only. "Empty" FPGAs can be produced in large volume.
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Programming gate arrays
Programming mask
Density
cost
low
metallization mask only
metallization + contact window mask
metalliaztion + contact + doping mask
...
full custom
1-12-2009
high
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Pre-design – reduced costs
►
It is not worthwhile to design logic gates, latches, registers,
MUX-s etc. for every new IC
 they are always the same (same stick diagram layouts)
 they are used frequently – re-use
►
Let us pre-design such elements and let us standardize them
 standard cells
►
"Standard cells" in a general sense exist in case of all kinds
of IC design styles
►
Design costs can be radically reduced
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
"Standard cells" – generally
►
In hardware design
 PCB: off-the-self IC-s (such
as SN series, others)
 FPGA: pre-designed codes
 gate array: interconnected
circuit elements on
metallization mask
 standard cellás IC: the cells
themselves – detailed layouts
of logic gates
 full custom IC: parts of the
full layout are ready blocks:
standard cells, larger blocks
like RAMs, ROMs, IP blocks
provided by their layouts, etc.
1-12-2009
►
In software
 library routines (e.g. C
libraries – math.h, etc)
 C++ classes (class libraries)
IP blocks:
A circuit block given as a
synthetizable high level
description by means of an HDL
"code". (Synthetizable down to
the ultimate detailed layout.)
IP == intellectual property
Even complete processor cores are
available in HDL at so called IP brokers.
These can be mapped to an FPGA or to
an IC process.
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Standard cells – in IC design
► Basic
building blocks being used in case of design
of monolithic IC-sMonolitikus IC-k tervezésénél
 logic gates
 some more complex functions
► Pre-designed,
error free layout, fully tested
functionality
 some constraints in their layout
• fixed height (but variable width)
• signal pins – at given raster positions
• VDD and GND access: at fixed position
 these constraints help simplify the operation of automatic
CAD tools performing the physical design of the IC
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Comparison 1.
full
cust.
std.
cell.
above
106 OK
1 year
Realization
costly,
slow
costly
above
around
always
4
3
10 OK
10 OK
OK
4 months 4 months immediately
cheap,
cheap,
function
quick
quick
only
costly
medium cheap
below
103 OK
1 week..
1 year
cheap,
quick
cheap
Complexity
high
high
medium
high
-
Possibility to
copy
hard
hard
medium
hard
easy
Cost
turnaround
Design
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gate
arr.
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FPGA PCB
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Comparison 2.
Price
Gate array
Std. cell
Full custom
PCB
103
1-12-2009
104
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106
Volume
[pcs]
26
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Standard cell design
► cell
library
► in the library geometrical constraints for every
element
 identical height (any width),
 supply and ground lines at identical position
 signal pints on a given grid either on the top or bottom
of the cells
► regular
chip layout:
 cell rows,
 routing channels for interconnects
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Standard cells of gates
► The
CMOS inverter layout shown before has also
been created according to conventions of standard
cell design
Supply pins
out
out
G
G
D
signal pins
GND
nMOS
S
D
pMOS
G
G
S
VDD
in
in
Cell layout macro outline
1-12-2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Standard cells
► In
layout view on can refer to the inverter through its
layout macro (cell outline and pins)
!GND
!VDD
out
out
INV
in
in
!VDD
!GND
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Standard cells
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Standard cella in a row:
VDD
GND
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Standard cell IC:
routing channel
Cell row
routing channel
supply
tree
(comb)
Cell row
routing channel
supply
tree
(comb)
Cell row
routing channel
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Detail of a standard cell IC:
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Contents of the standard cell library
► pre-designed
block performing a given logic
function,
► fully tested and verified function
 graphics symbol (for schematic capture)
 simulation model, timing data
(for logic simulation),
 detailed cell layout or cell outline (macro)
 prototype of the cell in the HDL used in the design
framework
► typical
elements: logic gates, latches, ff-s, MUX,
DMX, SNxxx, counters, etc.
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
The design flow
► In
a given design framework (CAD system),
► for a given design style (such as standard cell
design) esetén
► the sequence of usage of tools:
 which programs,
 in what order
are to be used.
► Prescribed
sequence of program usage
► Required files (representation or views of the
design)
► Consistency of the required files
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IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Standard cell design flow 1
Circuit entry:
•schematic capture
•HDL
•macrocells/ generated element (eg. RAM, ROM blocks)
correct
stimulus file
Functional testing with logic simulation (pre-layout)
no
yes
Description of
stimuli Ok?
no
Are the
simulation
results Ok?
yes
no 
Are the
simulation
results Ok?
yes
1-12-2009
Physical design:
•floorplan
•detailed layout
•package - bonding
Functional testing with logic simulation
(post-layout):
•interconnect delay,
•min/nom/max (scatter),
•skew
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Standard cell design flow 2
Ellenőrzések. Pl.:
•Pad ring Ok?
•Fan-in / fan-out realation Ok?
•Are there timing violations at FF-s?
•Do min/nom/max simulation results eseentially match?
•Skew sensitivity?
•Layout DRC Ok?
Step back to the
required prior
design phase
mo 
 Collect and submit all
required files
Is everything
Ok?
yes
Foundry interface:
•logic simulation for IC testing
•adm issues (eg. design IDs)
yes
no 
Is everything
Ok?
1-12-2009
Consistency check:
•All required steps performed?
•Right sequence? Success?
•Do required files exist?
•Are they consistent?
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Files to be submitted to the foundry
► circuit
description (netlist, HDL)
► complete layout in detail
► description of the test (test vectors and
corresponding responses)
► Packaging and bonding information (bonding
diagram)
► Admin
1-12-2009
IDs
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Design methodologies
► Top-down
design:
From the more complex system design towards simpler
building blocks: designs are always partioned into simpler
ones
until
the resulting simpler functionality is not available as an
existing block (standard cell, other pre-designed building
block etc).
HDL-s (Verilog, VHDL, SystemC) mostly
support this.
1-12-2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Design methodologies
► Top-down
design:
behavioral description
Partitioning:
define sub-circuits through
their behavioral description
Testing these behavioral
descriptions by means of
simulation
Structural description
using the behaviroal
models of sub-circuits
Matching?
Simulation
Simulation
In case of successful partitioning of the circuit continue with the
partitioning of the sub-circuits ...
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Design methodologies
► Bottom-up
design:
Using basic building blocks (standard cell library
elements) sub-circuits are composed.
From these sub-circuits, further, more complex subcircuits are composed, etc.
until
the ultimate specified circuit function is not realized.
► Always
a hierarchical circuit description is produced
(in both cases)
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Hierarchical circuit design
Top level design: core pads
Core: Function_A + Function_B
Function_A:
Function_AA+
Function_AB
Function_BB:
Function_BA+
Function_BB
Function_AA
library element
1-12-2009
library element
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library element
42
Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Hierarchical circuit design
4 to 16 decoder: top level design
Input cells
Circuit
core
Supply pads
Output cells
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Hierarchical circuit design
4 to 16 decoder: top level design
Circuit
core
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Hierarchical circuit design
2 to 4 decoder with
bus
4 to 16 decoder core
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Hierarchical circuit design
dec2to4
2 to 4 decoder, with bus
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Hierarchical circuit design
Library elements:
inv, nand
Bottom of heierarchy
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Design flattening
► Breaking
down the design hierarchy is called design
flattening:
 Starting with top level design the reference to sub-circuits
is replaced by the sub-circuit descriptions
 This substitutions is continued until the design contains
direct references to cells in the library.
► Design
1-12-2009
without hierarchy is called flat design
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Design flattening
Top level design
Hierarchical design
Sub-circuits
Sub-circuits
Cell level functions
Design flattener program
Flat design
Cells
1-12-2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Produce layout
► Flat
design

► Floorplan
 produce core
 create pad ring (pad limited, core limited)
 place cells
► Global
routing
 create routing channels
 create supply tree
 a clock tree might also be created
► Detailed
routing
► DRC – design rule check
1-12-2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
The floorplan
pad ring with
I/O cells
This is the global
plan of the layout.
Locations of
major blocks are
assigned here.
core
and corner
cells
Might require
manual work
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
The floorplan
Intel Pentium processor – optical
microscopic image: layout details
are not visible but the floorplan is
clearly visible.
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
The floorplan design
► Example:
Cadence Opus
Floorplan with
unplaced pads
and
standard cells,
separated
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
The floorplan design
► Design
of the pad ring: manual editing of the so
called floorplan file
► Adding corner cells
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
The floorplan design
► The
ready floorplan after the alignment of the ring:
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Next step: place & route
► create
routing channels
► global routing
► detailed routing
► errors possible
ERC: electric rule checking
DRC: design rule checking
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
DRC: design rule check
►
The "syntax" check of the layout
 In case of manual layout design (full custom IC): required
 In case of machine generated layout: recommended
►
Some typical operations of DRC:
WIDTH(A) < 0.5
Results in all shapes of
layer A which are thinner
than 0.5
SPACING(A,B) < 0.5
Results in all shape pairs of
layers A and B the distance
between which is smaller
than 0.5
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Layout macros – resolved:
The layout description is
also a hierachical one, but
this has nothing to do with
the design hierarchy, but
the hierarchy of the layout
macros
Level 1: two macro references (core, pad ring)
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Layout macros – resolved:
Level 2: pad ring sub-divided
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Layout macros – resolved:
Level 3: pad ring further resolved, routing channels, cell rows
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Layout macros – resolved:
Level 4: macro references of pad cells and standard cells
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Layout macros – resolved:
Level 5
1-12-2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Layout macros – resolved:
Level 6
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Layout macros – resolved:
Level 7: all macros along the hierarchy are completely resolved
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Layout macros – resolved:
Level 4: transistors and contacts/vias still with macro references
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Layout macros – resolved:
Level 6: standard cells, contacts/vias fully resolved
1-12-2009
IC design 2: Design rules, design frameworks © Poppe András, BME-EET 2009
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Department of Electron Devices
Flow of automated design:
Simulator:
Representation:
System simulation
System level description
Specs in SystemC for HWSW co-design
Functional testing
Behavioral description
Specs in VHDL or in
Verilog
Abstraction level:
System level design
Design work is
concentrated here
High level sythesis
Logic simulation
timing parameters
Structural description
either in VHDL or
Verilog
Logic level design
Mapping and layout
generation
Transistor level design
Extraction of delays
1-12-2009
Physical design (layout)
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