Tyler Lockman

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Tyler Lockman is a software architect with the Cadence Allegro group, focused heavily on IC package and interposer substrate design.

Author's Latest Posts

A New Way To Create Structures
By Tyler Lockman - 11 Feb, 2021 - Comments: 0

Let’s focus today on an established routing technology with a new twist! All of you are doubtless familiar with the concept of structures – formerly called via structures, renamed to structures because of their growing flexibility and application across many flows. These handy, reusable blocks of routing allow you to quickly fan out the most complex of component interfaces. And, after that,... » read more

Establishing Connectivity Between Die and BGA
By Tyler Lockman - 03 Sep, 2020 - Comments: 0

The BGA component serves the primary role of redistributing the signals from the die it protects to an interface pattern (the BGA’s balls) compatible with the host PCB it mounts on. As a result, many IC package designs are among those who do not use a front-end schematic. Even if you have a schematic, you may find yourself making logic swaps in the layout where the additional context of the r... » read more

Make Acute Angles A Sharp Problem Of The Past
By Tyler Lockman - 13 Aug, 2020 - Comments: 0

Sharp angles, whether they create a spike in a poured shape or form an acid trap between two different pieces of metal, are a problem for us all. As designers, we will go out of our way to try and avoid creating these situations; they will still creep into your design despite the best of intentions. How, then, can you efficiently rid your design of them with the minimal change to your routin... » read more

Choosing Between Static and Dynamic Shapes
By Tyler Lockman - 14 May, 2020 - Comments: 0

That title might be a touch misleading. We’re not here to talk about why to convert shapes between static and dynamic. Rather, I want to talk about why you should NOT be doing this. Every design has some conductor shapes in it (or at least a very large percentage of them). What style to use is a choice that will impact performance through your entire flow; let the shape’s purpose guide you.... » read more

Easier Bond Finger Solder Mask Openings
By Tyler Lockman - 09 Apr, 2020 - Comments: 0

If you design wire bond packages, you’re familiar with the need for the bond fingers and rings on the package substrate layers to be exposed through the solder mask layer. If they aren’t, it becomes… rather difficult… to bond the wire to them, after all! We talked about general-purpose bounding shapes a few weeks ago in “A Boundless Bounty of Bounding Shapes”. Bond fingers have a... » read more

Don’t Get Stranded On Islands, Delete Them
By Tyler Lockman - 02 Apr, 2020 - Comments: 0

No, this isn’t a Hollywood movie. We’re talking about pieces of plane shapes with no connections to them, not an idyllic private oasis in the Caribbean (sorry). Removing shape islands is something you’ve always been able to do in the Allegro layout environments, but the flow for achieving this has improved significantly in recent years. Come with us, and we’ll compare what the flow u... » read more

Demystifying Mirror Types
By Tyler Lockman - 12 Mar, 2020 - Comments: 0

I’m not talking about carnival funhouse mirrors, but rather the different options for mirroring symbols, vias, and bond fingers in your IC Package layout. The Allegro Package Designer Plus and SiP Layout tools have two distinct styles of mirroring which are used in different places. Often, I get questions about what, exactly, those differences are. And even more, why the styles are used for d... » read more

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