Design Rule Violation Visualizer for Interactive Layout Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing complexity of design rule constraints in VLSI design for denser chips with smaller features poses a challenge in efficiently identifying and understanding design rule violations, as existing technologies lack comprehensive and intuitive methods for displaying these violations.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that converts design rule violation data from a Constraint Dependent Model into a Constraint Independent Model, allowing for interactive textual and visual representations of design rule violations on a layout, using a Violation Visualizer to display violations in an easily ascertainable manner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If comprehensive design rule checking is performed to identify all violations, then the number of detected violations increases, but the complexity of analyzing and understanding these violations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex violation analysis by categorizing violations into different types (spacing violations, width violations, alignment violations, etc.) and organizing them hierarchically with violation groups and subgroups. This segmentation allows designers to systematically analyze violations by category rather than being overwhelmed by the total number of violations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimensional organization for violations by creating a hierarchical structure with multiple levels (violation groups, subgroups, individual violations) and adding contextual dimensions such as layer information, shape identifiers, and spatial relationships. This multi-dimensional organization transforms the flat list of violations into a structured hierarchy that is easier to navigate and understand.
2Loss of information
If detailed information about each violation is displayed, then the completeness of violation information increases, but the visual clutter and difficulty of understanding increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments violation information into hierarchical groups and subgroups, allowing designers to view information at appropriate levels of detail. Each violation is organized with its contextual information (layer, shape, location) separated into structured fields, enabling selective viewing of detailed information without overwhelming the entire display.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing different levels of information density in different parts of the interface. The violation display shows summary information prominently while allowing access to detailed information on demand. Contextual information such as layer names, shape identifiers, and spatial relationships are displayed in organized sections rather than uniformly across all violations.
3Loss of information
If traditional text-based violation reporting is used, then the amount of information that can be conveyed increases, but the ease of quickly understanding violations decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses color coding to visually distinguish different types of violations, layers, and violation severities. Different violation categories are represented with distinct colors or color intensities, allowing designers to quickly scan and identify problematic areas without reading detailed text descriptions. This visual encoding maintains full information capacity while dramatically reducing analysis time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms text-based violation information into a visual spatial representation where violations are displayed on a graphical overlay of the layout. This adds a spatial dimension to the information, allowing designers to understand the location and context of violations visually rather than through text coordinates, significantly reducing interpretation time while maintaining information completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for reporting design rule violations of an integrated circuit design includes collecting data from a design rule checker module, processing the data, and displaying design rule violations onto the layout. The display of the design rule violations may be interactive by including hypertext links to specifications, text bubbles with violation explanations, measurements, highlighting areas of the layout corresponding to a particular rule, and providing hierarchically expandable nodes for constraint violations in a browser.