Unified EDA Interface for Multi-Fabric Electronic Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electronic design approaches isolate different design fabrics for integrated circuits, packaging, and printed circuit boards, leading to inefficiencies in debugging, optimization, and design closure, as designers must switch between multiple Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools, resulting in wasted resources and potential errors being propagated through the design process.
Innovation Solution
A unified layout editor with multiple tabs for different design fabrics allows for interactive co-design, enabling designers to probe and modify circuit components across multiple design fabrics within a single interface, providing contextual information and reducing the need for frequent tool switching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional approaches use dedicated EDA tools for different design fabrics (IC, package, PCB), then each design fabric can be designed independently with specialized tools, but designers must switch between multiple tools for debugging and optimization, resulting in wasted time and potential error propagation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple dedicated EDA tools into a single unified EDA tool that can handle multiple design fabrics (IC, package, PCB) within one interface. This consolidation allows designers to work across different design fabrics without switching tools, eliminating the time loss associated with tool switching while maintaining the ability to independently design each fabric type.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified EDA tool implements multi-functionality by incorporating capabilities to edit, debug, and optimize multiple design fabrics within a single tool. The tool can identify and display circuit components across IC, package, and PCB fabrics, and perform probing operations that traverse fabric boundaries, making it a universal platform for multi-fabric electronic design.
2Ease of manufacture
If designers use multiple dedicated EDA tools for different design fabrics, then each tool can provide specialized functionality, but the complex workflow requires going back and forth between tools for debugging and optimization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple specialized EDA tools into one unified tool that maintains the specialized functionality for each design fabric type while eliminating the need to switch between tools. The unified tool provides integrated editing, debugging, and optimization capabilities across IC, package, and PCB fabrics, simplifying the workflow despite the specialized nature of each fabric type.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified EDA tool implements segmentation by providing separate functional modules or modes for handling different design fabrics (IC, package, PCB) within a single interface. Each fabric type can be accessed and manipulated independently through the unified tool, maintaining specialized functionality while preventing workflow complexity through centralized management.
3Reliability
If conventional approaches isolate design fabrics with dedicated tools, then database compatibility issues are avoided, but debugging and design closure become inefficient due to frequent tool switching
Solution Approach 1:
The unified EDA tool introduces an intermediary layer that manages database compatibility between different design fabrics. This intermediary handles the conversion and coordination between incompatible databases (IC, package, PCB) internally, allowing designers to work with all fabrics through a single interface without directly encountering compatibility issues, thereby maintaining reliability while improving productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for probing a multi-fabric electronic design that spans across multiple design fabrics. These techniques identify a single layout editor, a first electronic design in a first design fabric, and a second electronic design in a second design fabric. An input for probing a circuit component in the first electronic design may further be identified at a user interface of a computing system. The circuit component being probed is connected to an instance of the second electronic design. In response to the input, one or more co-design modules render a representation of the first layout with emphasized circuit components in the first design fabric and the second design fabric, wherein the one or more co-design modules are stored at least partially in memory of and function in conjunction with at least one microprocessor of a computing system.