Power Delivery Network Design via Segmented Voltage Drop Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current power delivery network (PDN) designs in integrated circuits face significant challenges due to voltage drops caused by resistance, leading to instability and errors, requiring repetitive redesigns that lengthen the IC design process and delay product release.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that perform first power diagnostics to divide the PDN into subsets based on voltage drop levels, selecting nodes from each subset to form interconnections, allowing for orderly connection and reducing the need for extensive redesign, thereby enhancing PDN stability and reducing design time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If uniform PDN design is used, then design complexity is reduced, but voltage drop increases causing power integrity issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the PDN design into multiple zones based on power density requirements. Different zones are assigned different PDN configurations (e.g., power stripe width, spacing, via density) to match local power demands. This allows the system to maintain low voltage drop in high-power areas while using simpler configurations in low-power areas, thus resolving the contradiction between design complexity and power integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by varying PDN parameters (such as power stripe width, spacing, and via density) according to local power requirements. High-power density areas receive denser and wider power stripes, while low-power areas use sparser configurations. This localized optimization ensures adequate power delivery where needed without unnecessarily complicating the overall design.
2Reliability
If PDN density is increased to reduce voltage drop, then power integrity improves, but design time increases due to repetitive redesign
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs power diagnostics and PDN simulation during the floorplanning stage, before detailed routing and implementation. This preliminary action identifies areas with potential voltage drop issues early in the design process, allowing designers to optimize PDN configuration in advance. By detecting and correcting PDN problems before detailed design, the need for repetitive redesign loops is eliminated, thus improving power integrity without extending design time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates power diagnostics and simulation feedback into the floorplanning process. The system analyzes power delivery performance and provides feedback on voltage drop issues, enabling designers to adjust PDN configuration iteratively during floorplanning. This feedback mechanism ensures power integrity is achieved early in the design process, preventing the need for time-consuming redesign cycles later.
3Reliability
If power stripe width is increased to reduce voltage drop, then power delivery capability improves, but signal wiring resources are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying power stripe width according to local power density requirements. In high-power density areas, wider power stripes are used to reduce voltage drop and improve power delivery capability. In low-power density areas, narrower power stripes are used, freeing up routing resources for signal wires. This localized optimization ensures adequate power delivery where needed while minimizing the consumption of signal wiring resources in other areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the chip area into zones with different power density characteristics. Each zone is assigned appropriate power stripe dimensions based on its specific requirements. This segmentation allows the system to concentrate power delivery resources only where necessary, rather than uniformly increasing power stripe width across the entire chip, thus preserving signal wiring resources in low-power areas.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for generating a power delivery network (PDN) of a circuit system is provided. The apparatus performs a power diagnostics on the PDN of a circuit system. According to result of the power diagnostics, a number of areas are generated and divided into at least three subsets. At least one area is selected from each of the at least three subsets, and one node is selected from each of the selected areas, and the nodes are connected sequentially to form an interconnection with at least three nodes in the PDN.