Mixed-Height Standard Cell Layout With Alternating Power Rail Sequences
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing integrated circuits face challenges in optimizing the layout and placement of standard cells to balance area efficiency, performance, and power consumption, particularly when incorporating cells with varying heights and power line configurations.
Innovation Solution
The integrated circuit design includes standard cells arranged on rows with varying heights and alternating power lines to supply different supply voltages, allowing for selective placement based on function, area, and operational advantages, while maintaining identical functions across cells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If standard cells with different heights are placed on rows to optimize density and performance, then area utilization and operation characteristics are improved, but placement complexity and power line configuration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated circuit is divided into multiple rows with different heights (first height and second height), allowing standard cells to be segmented and placed according to their specific height requirements. This segmentation enables optimized area utilization while managing placement complexity through systematic row organization.
Solution Approach 2:
Different rows are assigned different heights based on the specific requirements of standard cells placed therein. This local quality approach allows each row to be optimized for its intended function, with power lines configured specifically for each row's height characteristics, thereby improving overall area utilization without uniformly increasing complexity.
2Use of energy by moving object
If power lines are configured with different placement sequences for standard cells with identical functions but different heights, then power supply optimization is achieved, but design and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Power lines are configured with different placement sequences according to the specific height and power requirements of each standard cell. This local quality approach optimizes power supply efficiency for each cell type while maintaining a systematic methodology that manages design complexity through consistent rules for power line configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The placement sequence of power lines is varied as a parameter to optimize power supply efficiency for different standard cell configurations. By changing the power line placement sequence rather than the cell design itself, the patent achieves power optimization while keeping manufacturing processes relatively standardized.
3Quantity of substance
If hybrid height cells are placed on rows with varying heights to improve density, then area efficiency increases, but routing and interconnection complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The circuit is segmented into rows of different heights, with hybrid height cells strategically placed to maximize density. This segmentation provides a structured framework that manages routing complexity by organizing interconnections according to row height patterns rather than allowing random cell placement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the vertical dimension by creating rows with different heights, transforming a two-dimensional placement problem into a three-dimensional optimization. This dimensional approach increases cell density while providing systematic pathways for routing that manage interconnection complexity through vertical organization.
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated circuit including a first standard cell placed continuously on a row having a first height and a row having a second height different from the first height. The integrated circuit also includes a second standard cell continuously placed on a row having the first height and a row having the second height, a plurality of first power lines formed on boundaries of the plurality of rows and configured to supply a first supply voltage to the standard cells, and a plurality of second power lines formed on boundaries of the plurality of rows and configured to supply a second supply voltage to the standard cells. A placement sequence of the power lines supplying a voltage to the first standard cell being different from a placement sequence of the power lines supplying a voltage to the second standard cell.