ESD Validation via Schematic Netlist Analysis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for validating integrated circuits (ICs) for electrostatic discharge (ESD) compliance are inefficient, often requiring multiple design cycles and additional checks post-routing and placement, and fail to adequately verify parasitic components in protection circuits.
Innovation Solution
The method involves validating ESD compliance by examining netlist data at the schematic level, generating layout guidelines for protection circuits, and extracting parasitic information to verify acceptability, thereby reducing design cycle time and iterations through a single netlist-level verification engine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If ESD compliance validation is performed after routing and placement, then the validation can be done with complete layout information, but the design cycle time increases and multiple iterations are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs ESD compliance validation at the schematic netlist level before routing and placement are completed. This preliminary validation identifies potential ESD issues early in the design process, allowing corrections to be made before the layout phase, thereby reducing design cycle time and avoiding multiple iterations while maintaining validation effectiveness through subsequent post-layout verification
2Reliability
If multiple validation checks are performed at different design stages, then comprehensive ESD compliance is ensured, but the design process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines ESD compliance validation with the existing schematic verification process by integrating the validation engine to operate on the schematic netlist. This merging approach allows ESD checks to be performed alongside other design validations without requiring separate complex validation processes, thereby ensuring comprehensive ESD compliance while simplifying the overall validation workflow
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary ESD validation at the schematic level before the layout phase, identifying and correcting potential ESD issues early in the design process. This preliminary action reduces the need for complex post-layout validation iterations and simplifies the overall validation process by addressing ESD concerns before detailed layout work begins
3Loss of time
If validation is performed at the schematic level, then design cycle time is reduced, but parasitic components in protection circuits cannot be adequately verified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary ESD compliance validation at the schematic netlist level to quickly identify obvious ESD issues and provide early feedback to designers. This preliminary validation reduces design cycle time by catching errors before the layout phase while maintaining the capability for detailed parasitic verification through post-layout validation tools that operate on the final layout data
Data Source
AI summary
An aspect of the present invention validates ESD compliance by examining netlist data generated from a schematic level design of an integrated circuit. Routing and placement may be performed only after confirming that whether each protected circuit (having exposure to ESD current, without the protection circuit) is protected by an appropriate protection circuit. As a result, the design cycle time may be reduced. According to another aspect of the present invention, layout guidelines for each protection circuit is also considered in performing the routing and placement. As a result, the number of iterations in a design cycle may be reduced.