1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to integrated circuit design, and more particularly to designing integrated circuits to optimize manufacturability.
2. Related Art
The design of an integrated circuit (IC) chip is composed of discrete design elements, referred to also as intellectual property (IP) elements, of various size and complexity. The smallest elements are commonly referred to as standard cells. Larger assemblies of elements can be interconnected to produce complete functions, commonly referred to as blocks. Multiple blocks are interconnected to produce an IC chip, which is fabricated.
For the design of IC chips, for a given manufacturing process, it is necessary to produce an assembly of such cells or blocks consistent with the specific manufacturing process, while providing a variety of functionality and performance choices that allow designers to design and optimize a given IC chip. The assembly of such cells and blocks, together with a detailed description of their characteristics, created for a specific manufacturing process, is commonly referred to as a library. The variety of the design elements/components in a library, created for a specific manufacturing technology, enables a design system to create efficient and optimized IC chips. The library design elements (cells and blocks) are organized into dedicated data representations containing different characteristics related to their use in chip design. A particular data representation of a library design element containing such characteristics is referred to as a view.
In a conventional design flow to produce and characterize the properties of a library, test chips are designed and processed in a manufacturing facility to provide information that allows for the design and creation of the library. The test chips contain an array of representative devices and interconnection geometries, which are analyzed to generate device models suitable for use by electrical-level simulators, such as SPICE, that are utilized in the characterization of the library design elements, to produce performance views of the corresponding library design elements. The test chips are also analyzed to generate design rules utilized in the design of the library design elements. The layout of the library design elements is described in library views that, for example, contain footprint information of the library design element. The test chips are also analyzed to create a design kit that provides a user interface for the design of ICs, and that includes the SPICE models, the Design Rules, and the corresponding tools for automated checking of compliance with these rules.
The test chips that are used in conventional design systems, however, do not contain comprehensive structures that are designed for an assessment or prediction of the manufacturability for the passive or active components that are used for the construction of the library and the product ICs. Therefore, it follows that the library design elements that are created by the existing design systems have not been evaluated sufficiently with respect to a prediction of their manufacturability.
Each cell design that is created, utilizing the Design Kit, is represented using a computer readable format, such as GDSII. A number of different representations of each cell design exist in a library, and each representation is known as a cell view. Some cell views are derived from others. For example, the timing view of every cell is created from the SPICE models and the GDSII view via a process called library timing characterization. LEF is an example of a library view that describes the characteristics required by a router, and includes footprint and port location information.
A typical library contains on the order of 500 cells. However, within the assembly of the library cells, there are multiple layout representations for a given logic function. These “variants” provide different performance characteristics that can be chosen and optimized for a specific application. For example, high performance, high power, with low density, or low performance, low power, with high density options for the same logical function, are typically available in the variant versions containing in the library. However, since no library views contain manufacturability attributes, the variants created by the existing art do not provide choices regarding specific manufacturability related factors. Also, existing commercial software applications using the typical library views are not able to extract or use manufacturability characteristics for any design element in the library.
In a synthesis procedure, a high-level hardware description of the functionality of the IC is mapped into basic binary operators and logic arrays (logic decomposition) to produce a representation referred to as uncommitted logic. Using physical library cells or blocks the uncommitted logic is mapped into a specific logic connectivity diagram, often referred to as a gate-level netlist. A block place and route step creates a layout at the block level, consisting of the selected standard cells, and connections in the routing levels to connect all of the elements. The layout is represented in various formats, e.g., GDSII. A final verification step ensures that all the design constraints are met. In other common current practices, two or more of the steps between the high-level hardware description and the block level layout are executed simultaneously by one software application. Design flows with this type of approach are often denoted as “physical synthesis” flows.
In these design flows, the selection of the library design elements is determined by specific design constraints that are limited to the optimization of metrics, such as speed and power, and area considerations. No substantial manufacturability metric is addressed; however, some area based manufacturability models are used to indirectly estimate the chip costs.
Library design elements are analyzed for manufacturability to be used in designing an IC chip to be manufactured using a particular manufacturing process. The library design elements from a library are obtained. Manufacturability attributes of the library design elements are determined for the particular manufacturing process, where manufacturability attributes include yield-related attributes. Library views with manufacturability attributes for the library design elements are then generated, which are utilized by an electronic design automation (EDA) tool.
The present invention can be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, in which like parts may be referred to by like numerals:
The following description sets forth numerous specific configurations, parameters, and the like. It should be recognized, however, that such description is not intended as a limitation on the scope of the present invention, but is instead provided as a description of exemplary embodiments.
As described above, a library of design elements is typically used to design IC chips. The library includes all the required views of the library design elements, including performance related attributes of the library design elements. However, conventional libraries do not provide library views with manufacturability attributes, which include yield-related attributes, which can, for example, predict the number of good dies per wafer (GDW). It should be recognized that manufacturability also includes various IC characteristics, such as defects, printability, reliability, and the like. Manufacturability ultimately determines the profitability of a design.
In one exemplary embodiment, library design elements are analyzed to determine manufacturability attributes of the library design elements. Library views are then generated for the library elements to include manufacturability attributes in addition to performance attributes. These library views with manufacturability attributes can be used in a design flow to design ICs with increased manufacturability for a given process.
With reference to
I. Generating Views with Manufacturability Attributes
In one exemplary embodiment, test chips are designed for a specific fabrication facility and/or manufacturing process, taking into account the existing design rules, and the given target manufacturability models. The test chips include a representation of the layout features contained within the existing library design elements. The data extracted from the test chips include the random yield and systematic yield factors of the existing manufacturing process. For a more detailed description of test chips that can be used to determine random and systematic yields, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,749, titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRODUCT YIELD PREDICTION, issued on Sep. 10, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
With reference to
The manufacturability attributes determined from the test chips are then utilized to calibrate various simulator software tools, such as YRS, Optissimo, and the like. The results of the simulations of the manufacturability of the library design elements include a number of manufacturability attributes, including limited yield (LY) of the layout, manufacturing risk factors (MRF), a quantitative description of the process window, and the relationship between LY and MRF. The results of the manufacturing simulations are summarized in library views, which can be utilized by an electronic design automation (EDA) tool.
In one exemplary embodiment, based on historical production characteristics of a given manufacturing process, the current manufacturability attributes, and/or experience with learning rates, the manufacturability attributes of the manufacturing process are estimated for various future points of process maturity. The manufacturability of a given design element is then simulated for various time frames, which corresponds to different process maturity projections, and are also represented in the library views for the corresponding time frames and given library design element.
For example,
In one exemplary embodiment, utilizing statistical design data based on a compilation of representative legacy chip designs and/or blocks of memory/logic configurations, and corresponding manufacturability data, a model that describes the relationship between the manufacturability of the routing used to interconnect the library design elements, and the nature and logic connectivity of the library design elements is defined for a given manufacturing process and design methodology. This relationship is contained in a model, which is also included in the library views.
The library views are contained in a computer readable matrix that tabulates that various manufacturability attributes for a given collection of library design elements for various time frames and includes various interconnect manufacturability models.
With reference to
In 416, standard library views of cells are generated based on the design rules, design kits, and SPICE models. For example, a timing view describes the performance characteristics of the cell in the library as a function of cell load and input voltage slope, which is built by performing a number of SPICE simulations. A layout abstract view describes the characteristics required by a router, and includes footprint and port location information. A functional view describes the binary logic function associated with the cell. Other views are used to describe power consumption, signal integrity, etc. attributes of a cell. Views are generally specific to an EDA vendor's tool—i.e., a design tool reads in a cell view in order to determine the properties of the library element that are relevant for the operation performed by the tool. The cell layout view is also described in a compute readable format, such as, for example, GDSII.
In 418, test chips are used to determine a range of manufacturability parameters, many of which are expressed in various forms of yield-related data. For example, in 420, random and systematic yields are determined based on the data acquired from the test chips. In addition, other manufacturability features, such as printability metrics, process margins, and reliability features, are also extracted through the analysis of the test chip data. In 422, a simulator software tool, such as yield ramp simulator (YRS), Optissimo, and the like, is calibrated using yield-related and other manufacturability data.
In 424, historical yield ramp data of various layout features is used by YRS to calibrate the time dependence of such features as a function of a given manufacturability volume.
In 426, a manufacturability simulator is used to analyze each design element in the library to describe its manufacturability attributes. The results of the simulations include limited yield of the layout (LY), manufacturability risk factors (MRF) to describe a process window for the layout in a relative quantitative manner, both LY and MRF vs. time, and a relationship (e.g., a weighing factor) between LY and MRFs. In 428, library views of the library design elements with manufacturability attributes are generated.
II. Generating Variants
In one exemplary embodiment, variants of the library design elements can be created that allow for the enhancement of the manufacturability of the library design elements, usually at a minimal expense of other design parameters, such as area, performance, or power. These variants are functionally equivalent to the original library design elements, but provide specific design alternatives that can enhance the manufacturability properties of the library design elements through effective compromises, e.g., area and/or performance factors.
With reference to
III. Generate Manufacturability Estimate of Design
With reference to
In 616, a description of the design is imported. The description can be a netlist that describes a block or chip design at a structural level, in other words by specifying it in terms of a list of interconnected basic components, a Register Transfer Level description of desired block or chip functionality, or a layout of an existing block or chip. In 618, the manufacturability of the design is analyzed based on the library views of the library design elements using a manufacturability analyzer. In 622, a manufacturability estimate for the design is generated. The manufacturability estimate can be a function of the manufacturing time frame, and broken down by desired design blocks. In 620 manufacturability views are generated for design blocks in 614, if such views have not as yet been created. The manufacturability estimate in 622 provides a user with the capability to understand the manufacturability characteristics of a given IC or IP block. Additionally, in one exemplary embodiment, the manufacturability estimate can be used to project the time dependence of the manufacturability of a design.
More particularly, for any design element, the characteristics of a virtual learning curve (e.g., the dependence of yield on the manufacturing volume, obtained from historical data) can be inputted into a simulator tool, such as YRS. With reference to
IV. Selection of Optimum Design Elements
With reference to
In 704, the revised design is analyzed to determine if the revised design complies with design constraints. If a constraint is violated, then a design is incrementally compiled to meet the constraint or an alternative next lower yielding variant with the same functionality is substituted. As depicted in
Although exemplary embodiments have been described, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and/or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the specific forms shown in the drawings and described above.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US03/29758 | 9/16/2003 | WO | 3/15/2006 |