Verify layout integrity, ensure IP placement accuracy, and validate critical symmetry requirements early in the design flow.
As the automotive industry races towards a future of connected, autonomous, and electrified vehicles, the complexity of integrated circuits (ICs) powering these innovations is reaching unprecedented levels. Modern automotive ICs incorporate a diverse mix of custom and third-party intellectual property (IP), each with unique performance requirements that must be meticulously verified to ensure flawless functionality and reliability (figure 1).
Fig. 1: A car uses ICs to drive dozens of electronic systems, controlling ride, performance, safety, entertainment, navigation, communications and more. Image source: Beau and Alan Daniels.
Traditional verification methods are struggling to keep pace with this rising complexity. Many existing approaches rely on manual checking and complex custom design rule checks (DRCs) that are often conducted late in the design cycle. This opens the potential for critical symmetry and IP placement issues to be detected after significant time and resources have already been invested, leading to costly revisions and delayed time-to-market.
To overcome these challenges, a growing number of automotive IC teams are embracing a “shift-left” verification strategy, where key validation steps are performed earlier in the design process. One part of this approach is pattern-based solutions that enables engineers to verify layout integrity, ensure IP placement accuracy, and validate critical symmetry requirements with speed and efficiency early in the design flow (figure 2).
Fig. 2: A shift-left verification with pattern matching capabilities.
One of the primary benefits of a shift-left pattern matching solution is its ability to help automotive IC designers maintain robust layout IP and layout symmetry, where required, from any stage of the layout process. As integrated circuits become more complex, with a diverse mix of custom and third-party IP, ensuring that the final layout matches the original design intent is crucial for performance, reliability, and manufacturability. Calibre does this by building on its internal pattern format to perform direct layout geometry comparisons circumventing the necessity to wait for specialty rule development.
Another key challenge facing automotive IC designers is ensuring the accurate placement of pre-verified IP blocks within the overall chip layout. Misalignment or configuration errors in IP placement can have severe consequences, affecting the performance and reliability of the final integrated circuit (figure 3).
Fig. 3: An example layout with multiple low pass filter placements each identified by the IP Checker including the instance with modifications. Difference between the original reference LPF and each identified instance are highlighted for easier review.
In addition to enhancing layout integrity and IP placement verification, a shift-left pattern matching solution can also play a crucial role in streamlining the debugging process for automotive IC designers. By applying results analysis from prior runs, engineers can quickly identify results encountered before and quickly apply the same resolution or direct their focus to only newly identified issues.
As the automotive industry continues to push the boundaries of integrated circuit complexity, shift-left pattern matching has emerged as a powerful tool for helping design teams overcome the verification bottlenecks of modern automotive ICs. By shifting key validation steps to the left, this technology enables faster time-to-market, improved design quality, and greater confidence in the performance and reliability of the final product.
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