Method for supply voltage drop analysis during placement phase of chip design
US6523154B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 14, 2000 |
| Grant date | Feb 18, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 10, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F30/367
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method of analyzing supply voltage drops in a power grid for distributing power to an integrated circuit chip during design. The method initially comprises providing a library of circuits for use in designing an integrated circuit chip and determining a supply current requirement and an operating voltage range for each circuit in the circuit library. The method then includes calculating an admittance matrix representing the power grid with a pre-specified array of circuit ports defined by intersection of the power grid and a modeling grid, assigning regions of the power grid to each of the ports, and placing a set of circuits from the circuit library in regions on the power grid. The method further includes calculating a total node current at each of the ports by summing current requirements of all of the circuits located in the regions, calculating a node voltage at each of the ports by solving a system of linear equations corresponding to the calculated admittance matrix, imposing a penalty to each node having a node voltage outside of a predetermined range, and calculating the node voltages and the penalties to a cost-based floorplanning/placement analysis tool.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.