Local preferred direction architecture, tools, and apparatus

US7441220B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Cadence Design Systems, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Asmus Hetzel · Berlin, DE
• Anish Malhotra · San Jose, US
• Akira Fujimura · Saratoga, US
• Etienne Jacques · Sunnyvale, US
• Jon Frankle · San Jose, US
• David S. Harrison · Sunnyvale, US
• Heath Feather · Fremont, US
• Alexandre V. Matveev · Santa Clara, US
• Roger King · Eindhoven, NL

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 6, 2004
• Grant date: Oct 21, 2008
• Expiry date: Jul 18, 2025

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F30/394
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Some embodiments of the invention provide a Local Preferred Direction (LPD) wiring model for use with one or more EDA tools (such as placing, routing, etc). An LPD wiring model allows at least one wiring layer to have a set of regions that each have a different preferred direction than the particular wiring layer. In addition, each region has a local preferred direction that differs from the local preferred direction of at least one other region in the set. Furthermore, at least two regions have two different polygonal shapes and no region in the set encompasses another region in the set. Some embodiments also provide a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that facilitates a visual presentation of an LPD design layout and provides tools to create and manipulate LPD regions in a design layout.