Patent · US Expired

Method for designing semiconductor integrated circuit

US6988254B2 · kind B2 · utility

10Cited by
8References
3Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 20, 2003
Grant dateJan 17, 2006
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 26, 2024

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F2119/12
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method for designing a semiconductor integrated circuit is provided that is capable of a timing simulation that is approximate to an actual operation by reducing the effect of IR drop on the timing without reducing an effective area necessary for arrangement of elements or the number of pads that can be used other than power supply pads and without increasing the processing time. In a FF driving ability change procedure, a flip-flop having a delay time larger than a transition time from a state in which an IR drop occurs in a power supply voltage to a state of an ideal power supply voltage is substituted for an arbitrary flip-flop. Thus, a delay library considering IR drop may be produced previously only for the flop-flop, thus enabling a production time of the library to be reduced and improving the calculation accuracy of the delay time in the delay calculation procedure. Furthermore, the substitution of a flip-flop having a low driving ability enables the area to be reduced.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.