基于MCMM技术快速实现IC时序收敛

The implementation of fast timing closure in IC design based on MCMM technology

如今的集成电路(Integrated Circuit,IC)设计往往要求芯片包含多个工作模式,并且在不同工艺角(corner)下能正常工作。工艺角和工作模式的增加,无疑使时序收敛面临极大挑战。本文介绍了一种在多工艺角多工作模式下快速实现时序收敛的技术——MCMM(Multicorner-Multimode)技术,该技术将工艺角和模式进行组合,对时序同时进行分析和优化,到达快速实现时序收敛的目的。该技术应用于一个80万门基于TSMC 0.152μm logic工艺的电力网载波通信(PLC)芯片设计,设计实例表明,利用MCMM技术不但可以解决时序难以收敛的问题,而且大大降低了芯片设计周期。

In today＇ s IC design, the chip is always required to work in some certain modes, and designers must guar- antee the chip work properly in different comers. The increasing number of corners and modes brings the big challenge in timing closure. This paper introduces a fast timing closure technology under multi-corner and multi -mode MCMM, this technology combines onecorner and one mode into a scenario, analyzes and optimizes the timing at the same time to realize the fast timing closure.The technology is applied to a power line communicationchip design based on TSMC 0.152 μm logic process which contains eight hundred thousand gates, this design example shows that using MCMM technology not only solves the difficulty in timing closure, but also decreases the chip design period at a large scale.