Standard Cell Pin Access Layout for Design Rule Compliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Identifying optimal pin access locations for standard cells in circuit designs is critical, especially for newer technology nodes, as it affects placement and routing, and existing methods often result in design rule violations.
Innovation Solution
A method involving multiple graphs and dynamic programming is used to determine pin access locations, ensuring no design rule violations by iteratively selecting pin access points that minimize violations, using conflict graphs and sorting criteria to optimize pin alignment and net wirelength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pin access points are identified using conventional methods, then the design process is simple, but design rule violations occur and placement and routing optimization is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The pin access location determination is segmented into multiple discrete steps: generating candidate locations, constructing conflict graphs, identifying violations, and iteratively selecting optimal locations. This segmentation transforms a complex optimization problem into manageable sequential tasks that ensure design rule compliance while maintaining systematic control over the process complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The method performs preliminary actions by generating all candidate pin access locations and constructing conflict graphs before final selection. By pre-identifying potential design rule violations and organizing them in conflict graphs, the system eliminates violations early in the process, ensuring compliance before placement and routing optimization occurs
2Productivity
If pin access locations are optimized for placement and routing, then circuit performance improves, but design rule violations may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously checking candidate pin access locations against design rules using conflict graphs. When violations are detected, the feedback loop iteratively adjusts the selection of pin access locations, removing violating candidates and re-evaluating alternatives. This feedback mechanism ensures that placement and routing optimization does not compromise design rule compliance
Solution Approach 2:
The pin access location selection is made dynamic through iterative refinement. The system dynamically adjusts the set of candidate locations based on violation detection, transitioning from an initial comprehensive set to a refined optimal set that satisfies both placement/routing efficiency and design rule requirements
3Reliability
If multiple graphs and dynamic programming are used to determine pin access locations, then design rule violations are eliminated, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The computational process is segmented into distinct phases: candidate generation, conflict graph construction, violation identification, and iterative selection. Each phase processes a specific subset of data and produces intermediate results, reducing the computational burden compared to evaluating all possible pin access locations simultaneously. This segmentation makes the complex optimization tractable while ensuring comprehensive design rule checking
4Productivity
If pin access points are selected without considering design rules, then the design process is faster, but design rule violations occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary design rule checking by constructing conflict graphs that encode all design rule constraints before pin access location selection. This preliminary action pre-identifies which candidate locations would violate rules, allowing the iterative selection process to efficiently avoid violating locations without requiring extensive post-selection verification, thus maintaining design process speed while ensuring compliance
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments provide for pin access location generation for one or more cells of a circuit design, which may be part of electronic design automation (EDA). Some embodiments facilitate pin access location generation by generating and using multiple graphs, which enable such embodiments to ensure that neighbor pins are not missed and to check for design rule violations.