IC Compiler II: Finding The Best Floorplan, Fast


As designers strive to pack more and more functionality into todays’ SoC’s, design size (in terms of the number of transistors packed into a chip) is growing almost exponentially. This growth brings with it an unbounded increase in not just the technical complexity of performing the physical layout of the design due to capacity challenges, but also requires designers to make choices that ca... » read more

More Nodes, New Problems


The rollout of leading-edge process nodes is accelerating rather than slowing down, defying predictions that device scaling would begin to subside due to rising costs and the increased difficulty of developing chips at those nodes. Costs are indeed rising. So are the number of design rules, which reflect skyrocketing complexity stemming from multiple patterning, more devices on a chip, and m... » read more

IP Qualification with Oasys-RTL


With increasing design sizes and complexities, the use of IP (intellectual property) as basic building blocks for better SoC design is also increasing. This paper presents the challenges faced during IP integration at the SoC level and what can be done to mitigate those risks during IP development. Mentor’s Oasys-RTL RTL floorplanning and physical synthesis tool offers a unique IP qualificati... » read more

Timing Closure Issues Resurface


Timing closure has resurfaced as a major challenge at 10nm and 7nm due to more features and power modes, increased process variation and other manufacturing-related issues. While timing-related problems are roughly correlated to rising complexity in semiconductors, they tend to generate problems in waves—about once per decade. In SoCs, timing closure problems have spawned entire methodolog... » read more

How To Fix Common Power Problems


As the industry moves to ever more advanced technology nodes, managing power has emerged as a primary challenge in modern SoC design. With smaller nodes, the wires become taller and narrower, which increases the resistivity and leads to more pronounced voltage drop effects. Electro-migration effects are also more severe at advanced nodes, causing serious reliability concerns. Both RTL synthesis... » read more