EDA Layout Cell Relocation for IR-Drop Rule Violations
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Solution Overview
Problem
The miniaturization of integrated circuits leads to stricter design and manufacturing specifications, with electronic design automation (EDA) tools facing challenges in managing design rule violations due to IR drops, which affect the reliability and performance of integrated circuits.
Innovation Solution
An EDA program identifies violated cells causing IR drops, classifies their root causes, and automatically moves cells to safe regions or keep-out areas to mitigate design rule violations by reducing IR drops, using algorithms that account for different root cause classes such as resistivity, cluster, self-induced, and disturbed classes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated cell moving algorithms are implemented to reduce design rule violations, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the design rule violation correction process into distinct phases: identifying violated cells, classifying root causes into different categories (resistivity class, cluster class, self-induced class, disturbed class), and applying specific moving algorithms for each class. This segmentation allows the complex automation task to be broken down into manageable, specialized sub-routines that can be executed systematically.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary classification of violated cells into root cause categories before executing the cell moving operation. By pre-classifying cells based on their violation characteristics (resistivity, cluster, self-induced, or disturbed), the system prepares appropriate correction strategies in advance, enabling more efficient and targeted automated correction without trial-and-error approaches.
2Manufacturing precision
If manual checking of design rule violations is performed, then manufacturing precision is maintained, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service mechanism where the EDA program automatically identifies violated cells, classifies their root causes, determines appropriate correction actions, and executes cell moving operations without human intervention. The system serves itself by autonomously detecting and correcting its own design rule violations, eliminating the need for manual checking while maintaining correction accuracy through structured algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where the EDA program continuously monitors the layout for violated cells, evaluates the effectiveness of correction actions, and iteratively refines the design. The system uses feedback from violation detection results to adjust its classification and correction strategies, ensuring ongoing improvement in design rule compliance without requiring manual re-verification.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes identifying a cell in the layout diagram as a violated cell that fails to pass one or more design rules related to IR drops, and classifying a root cause of the violated cell with a root cause class. The method also includes determining a searching area for searching safe region candidates, and finding a selected cell for moving based upon the root cause class of the root cause. The method also includes dividing the searching area into multiple analysis regions; finding a safe region for moving the selected cell based on searching at least one of the multiple analysis regions in the searching area, and moving the selected cell to the safe region in response to a condition that the safe region is found within the searching area.