Geometric Repeater Placement on Structured Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for inserting repeaters on structured routing are inefficient, requiring numerous iterations and often fail to meet design quality requirements such as DRC cleanliness, timing, area, and electro-migration targets, while being time-consuming and error-prone, especially in high-speed SoC designs.
Innovation Solution
A method for placing repeaters on structured routing based on user-specified locations using geometric considerations, allowing for legalization and placement in specific arrangements such as diagonal or checkerboard patterns, and a mechanism for placing lattice-style multi-layer metal structures over cells to ensure efficient routing and reproducibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If fully automated solutions are used to insert repeaters on structured routing, then repeater insertion can be performed without manual intervention, but the process requires many iterations to meet timing needs and may not satisfy other design quality requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining placement locations for repeaters based on geometric considerations before the actual insertion process. The system calculates and stores candidate locations in advance, allowing the automated tool to quickly select from pre-computed options rather than performing complex geometric analysis during each iteration, thereby reducing the number of iterations needed to meet timing and design quality requirements.
2Extent of automation
If fully automated solutions are used to insert repeaters, then manual effort is reduced, but existing routing topologies are not guaranteed to be exactly as originally designed and results are hard to reproduce
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different placement strategies to be applied to different regions or types of structured routing. The system can select from multiple pre-calculated placement locations depending on local constraints and requirements, enabling the automated process to preserve routing topologies in critical areas while still achieving timing closure. This localized approach ensures reproducibility by making placement decisions based on deterministic geometric criteria rather than global optimization iterations.
3Manufacturing precision
If iterative processes are used to meet timing targets, then timing requirements can be satisfied, but the process is extremely time consuming and error prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-calculating all possible repeater placement locations based on geometric considerations before the timing closure process begins. This allows the automated EDA tool to quickly evaluate and select from pre-computed candidate locations during timing iterations, significantly reducing the computational burden and time required to meet timing targets while maintaining precision in achieving timing requirements.
4Manufacturing precision
If repeaters are placed to meet timing requirements, then signal propagation delay is reduced, but DRC cleanliness and other design quality requirements may not be met
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by enabling the selection of different placement locations based on local design constraints and requirements. The pre-calculated candidate locations incorporate knowledge of DRC rules and design quality requirements, allowing the automated tool to place repeaters that simultaneously meet timing requirements and maintain DRC cleanliness in specific local regions of the design.
Data Source
AI summary
A method to place repeaters on existing structured routes based on user specified locations. Location can be specified in multiple ways. For example, a set of fixed repeating distances (starting from a driver), number of repeaters (spread evenly on net routing), an absolute cutline dissecting the existing nets routing (e.g., x or y coordinate measure from the origin of the cell), relative cutline dissecting the existing nets routing (e.g., x or y coordinate measured from the origin of the nets bounding box), etc. can specify location. A repeater legalization procedure allows a user to arrange repeaters in various forms thus legalizing them to meet specific design requirements. A preview mode is provided where results are presented in the form of annotations (e.g., cartoon drawings) displayed on a canvas (e.g., display screen) rather than in the form of real layout objects in a database.