Integrated Circuit Power and Thermal Profile Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for estimating power and thermal profiles in integrated circuit design are time-consuming, especially at early design stages, as they require precise simulations that can take hours to complete, whereas designers need quick estimations for circuit performance analysis.
Innovation Solution
A method that identifies groups of devices in a netlist, determines power consumption using device parameters and a lookup table, and associates this information with layout locations, allowing for the estimation of thermal profiles through power-to-temperature transformation functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If circuit simulators such as SPICE are used to obtain power profiles, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a simplified copy of the circuit model using lookup tables pre-computed from SPICE simulations. Instead of running full simulations during design iterations, the system queries pre-computed lookup tables with device parameters (voltage, current, temperature) to obtain power consumption values instantly. This copying approach preserves the accuracy of SPICE simulations while eliminating the time-consuming simulation process itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-computing and storing power consumption data in lookup tables before the actual design analysis. The lookup tables are generated by running SPICE simulations once for various operating conditions, and these pre-computed results are stored for rapid retrieval during subsequent design iterations. This preliminary computation shifts the expensive simulation work to a one-time setup phase rather than during each analysis phase.
2Measurement precision
If full circuit simulations are performed for power and thermal analysis, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses lookup tables as a simplified copy of the full circuit model. These lookup tables contain pre-computed power and thermal data for various operating conditions, allowing rapid query results without re-running simulations. The lookup tables capture the essential relationships between device parameters and thermal profiles, providing sufficient accuracy for design decisions while enabling much faster analysis speeds.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the approach from computing power and thermal profiles from scratch using full simulations to querying pre-computed parameter relationships stored in lookup tables. By transforming the problem from a computational simulation to a data lookup operation, the system maintains measurement precision while dramatically improving productivity and enabling rapid design iterations.
3Loss of time
If designers need quick estimations at early design stages, then loss of time is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates lookup tables that copy the essential characteristics of full SPICE simulations but in a compressed, pre-computed format. These lookup tables store the relationships between device parameters and power consumption for various operating conditions, allowing rapid queries that provide accurate enough estimates for early design decisions without requiring full simulation runtime.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs the accurate but time-consuming SPICE simulations in advance during a one-time setup phase, storing the results in lookup tables. This preliminary action ensures that when designers need quick estimations during iterative design, they can query the pre-computed data instantly, achieving both speed and accuracy simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the invention relate to techniques for estimating power and thermal profiles for an integrated circuit design. With various implementations of the invention, a group of devices is identified in a netlist based on information of the group of devices. The netlist may be a schematic netlist or a layout netlist extracted from a layout design. Power consumption information for the group of devices is determined based on device parameters for the group of devices and a lookup table. The determined power consumption information is then associated with layout location information. A thermal profile may then be estimated based on the power consumption information.