Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for interactively implementing physical electronic designs with track patterns

• US 10,049,175 B1
• Filed: 07/15/2015
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cadence Design Systems Incorporated (Cadence Group)
• Original Assignee: Cadence Design Systems Incorporated (Cadence Group)
• Inventors: Salowe, Jeffrey S., Cao, Min, Ruehl, Roland, Markham, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Whitmore, Stacy
• Application Number:
  US14/800,596
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: 716110, 716118-119, 716122, 716135, 716139
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/39 Circuit design at the physical level physical level design for reconfigurable circuits G06F30/347
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/392 Floor-planning or layout, e.g. partitioning or placement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/394 Routing G06F30/396 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/398 Design verification or optimisation, e.g. using design rule check [DRC], layout versus schematics [LVS] or finite element methods [FEM] optical proximity correction [OPC] design processes G03F1/36

Abstract

Some aspects enable users to interactively define a region in an electronic design, identify or generate a track pattern, and assign the track pattern to the region for subsequent physical implementation for the region. Another aspect interactively represents various results on a display apparatus using one or more distinguishing representation schemes. Another aspect is directed at interactive editing a component of an electronic design having track patterns by iteratively modifying a set of track patterns to reach a reduced set of track patterns and by automatically snapping the component to active track(s) in the reduced set for the physical implementation.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for interactively implementing physical electronic designs with track patterns, comprising:

using a computing system having at least one processor or at least one processor core to perform a process by executing a sequence of instructions stored in memory of the computing system, the process comprising;

identifying, at a user interface, a component to be physically implemented in a region in an electronic design;

identifying a number of track patterns for the region; and

implementing, at one or more track pattern modules and an interactive editing module stored at least partially in memory of and functioning in conjunction with the at least one processor of the computing system, the component at least

by executing the interactive editing module that displays a graphical emphasis for or on one or more active tracks in a track pattern, which is reduced from the number of track patterns, in the user interface based at least in part on an user interaction, and

by snapping the component to the one or more active tracks based at least in part on the user interaction while complying with one or more design rules without having to perform design rule checks for the one or more design rules, wherein

the track pattern in the number of track patterns includes a permitted legal arrangement of a plurality of active tracks that are associated with respective width values with which components implemented along the plurality of active tracks are to comply.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, the process further comprising:

reducing the number of track patterns to a reduced number of track patterns; and

assigning the reduced number of track patterns to the region for physical implementation of the component in the region.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2, the process further comprising:

associating the component with the region by using a linking structure; and

determining whether the implementation of the component adversely affects assignment of the reduced number of track patterns to the region.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, the process further comprising:

determining whether there is an existing track pattern assigned to the region;

identifying or determining a constraint for track pattern from the component; and

determining whether the existing track pattern is to be used for physical implementation of the component in the region based at least in part upon the constraint identified or determined from the component.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, the process further comprising:

determining the reduced number of track patterns based at least in part upon one or more first characteristics of the component or one or more second characteristics of an adjacent layer.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, the process further comprising:

identifying or determining one or more guide layers for physical implementation of the component in the region.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, the process further comprising:

identifying or determining one or more guide points for the component; and

snapping the one or more guide points to the one or more active tracks to implement the component in the region.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, the process further comprising:

determining whether there is a violation in physical implementation of the component in the region.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 8, the process further comprising:

identifying context information for the component;

determining whether the physical implementation causes a change in the context information; and

determining a fix for the violation based at least in part upon the change in the context information.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 8, the process further comprising:

determining whether using a current layer including the region and an adjacent layer for the physical implementation resolves the violation;

identifying a characteristic of the adjacent layer; and

performing physical implementation of the component by using the current layer and the adjacent layer.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 1, the process further comprising:

associating the component with the region by using a linking structure; and

determining whether the implementation of the component adversely affects assignment of a reduced number of track patterns to the region.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 1, the process further comprising:

dynamically or iteratively adjusting assignment of a reduced set of track patterns to the region based at least in part upon physical implementation of multiple components in the region.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 1, the process further comprising:

ranking or scoring the reduced set of track patterns assigned to the region based at least in part upon the physical implementation of one or more components.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 1, the process further comprising:

dynamically modifying at least one track pattern of the multiple track patterns based in part or in whole upon physical implementation of the component and/or one or more characteristics of the component that is to be physically implemented in the region in the electronic design.

15. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer accessible storage medium having stored thereupon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by at least one processor or at least one processor core executing one or more threads, causes the at least one processor or the at least one processor core to perform a set of acts for interactively implementing physical electronic designs with track patterns, the set of acts comprising:

using a computing system having at least one processor or at least one processor core to perform a process by executing a sequence of instructions stored in memory of the computing system, the process comprising;

identifying, at a user interface, a component to be physically implemented in a region in an electronic design;

identifying a number of track patterns for the region; and

implementing, at one or more track pattern modules and an interactive editing module stored at least partially in memory of and functioning in conjunction with the at least one processor of the computing system, the component at least

by executing the interactive editing module that displays a graphical emphasis for or on one or more active tracks in a track pattern, which is reduced from the number of track patterns, in the user interface based at least in part on an user interaction, and

by snapping the component to one or more active tracks based at least in part on the user interaction while complying with one or more design rules without having to perform design rule checks for the one or more design rules, wherein

the track pattern in the number of track patterns includes a permitted legal arrangement of a plurality of active tracks that are associated with respective width values with which components implemented along the plurality of active tracks are to comply.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 15, the set of acts further comprising at least one of:

a first set of acts, comprising;

reducing the number of track patterns to a reduced number of track patterns; and

assigning the reduced number of track patterns to the region for physical implementation of the component in the region;

a second set of acts, comprising;

associating the component with the region by using a linking structure; and

determining whether the implementation of the component adversely affects assignment of the reduced number of track patterns to the region;

or

a third set of acts, comprising;

determining whether there is an existing track pattern assigned to the region;

identifying or determining a constraint for track pattern from the component; and

determining whether the existing track pattern is to be used for physical implementation of the component in the region based at least in part upon the constraint identified or determined from the component.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 15, the set of acts further comprising at least one of:

a first set of acts, comprising;

determining the reduced number of track patterns based at least in part upon one or more first characteristics of the component or one or more second characteristics of an adjacent layer;

a second set of acts, comprising;

identifying or determining one or more guide layers for physical implementation of the component in the region;

a third set of acts, comprising;

identifying or determining one or more guide points for the component; and

snapping the one or more guide points to the one or more active tracks to implement the component in the region;

determining whether the existing track pattern is to be used for physical implementation of the component in the region based at least in part upon the constraint identified or determined from the component;

or

a fourth set of acts, comprising;

dynamically modifying at least one track pattern of the multiple track patterns based in part or in whole upon physical implementation of the component and/or one or more characteristics of the component that is to be physically implemented in the region in the electronic design.

18. A system for interactively implementing physical electronic designs with track patterns, comprising:

at least one computer processor or processor core of a computing system;

memory storing thereupon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by the at least one computer processor or processor core, causes the at least one processor or processor core at least to;

a user interface configured to identify a component to be physically implemented in a region in an electronic design;

identify a number of track patterns for the region; and

one or more track pattern modules and an interactive editing module stored at least partially in memory of and functioning in conjunction with the at least one processor of the computing system and configured to implement the component at least

by executing the interactive editing module that displays a graphical emphasis for or on one or more active tracks in a track pattern, which is reduced from the number of track patterns, in the user interface based at least in part on an user interaction, and

by snapping the component to one or more active tracks based at least in part on the user interaction while complying with one or more design rules without having to perform design rule checks for the one or more design rules, wherein

the track pattern in the number of track patterns includes a permitted legal arrangement of a plurality of active tracks that are associated with respective width values with which components implemented along the plurality of active tracks are to comply.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least one computer processor or processor core is further to:

execute one or more subsets of instructions of the sequence of instruction stored in the memory, wherein the one or more subsets of instructions include at least one of;

a first subset of instructions of the sequence of instructions, when executed by the at least one computer processor or processor core, causes the at least one computer processor or processor core to reduce the number of track patterns to a reduced number of track patterns and to assign the reduced number of track patterns to the region for physical implementation of the component in the region;

a second subset of instructions of the sequence of instructions, when executed by the at least one computer processor or processor core, causes the at least one computer processor or processor core to associate the component with the region by using a linking structure and to determine whether the implementation of the component adversely affects assignment of the reduced number of track patterns to the region;

a third subset of instructions of the sequence of instructions, when executed by the at least one computer processor or processor core, causes the at least one computer processor or processor core to determine whether there is an existing track pattern assigned to the region, to identify or determine a constraint for track pattern from the component, and to determine whether the existing track pattern is to be used for physical implementation of the component in the region based at least in part upon the constraint identified or determined from the component.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least one computer processor or processor core is further to:

execute one or more subsets of instructions of the sequence of instruction stored in the memory, wherein the one or more subsets of instructions include at least one of;

a first subset of instructions of the sequence of instructions, when executed by the at least one computer processor or processor core, causes the at least one computer processor or processor core to identify or determine one or more guide layers for physical implementation of the component in the region;

a second subset of instructions of the sequence of instructions, when executed by the at least one computer processor or processor core, causes the at least one computer processor or processor core to identify or determine one or more guide points for the component and to snap the one or more guide points to the one or more active tracks to implement the component in the region;

a third subset of instructions of the sequence of instructions, when executed by the at least one computer processor or processor core, causes the at least one computer processor or processor core to determine whether there is a violation in physical implementation of the component in the region;

a fourth subset of instructions of the sequence of instructions, when executed by the at least one computer processor or processor core, causes the at least one computer processor or processor core to identify context information for the component, to determine whether the physical implementation causes a change in the context information, and to determine a fix for the violation based at least in part upon the change in the context information;

or

a fifth subset of instructions of the sequence of instructions, when executed by the at least one computer processor or processor core, causes the at least one computer processor or processor core to dynamically modify at least one track pattern of the multiple track patterns based in part or in whole upon physical implementation of the component and/or one or more characteristics of the component that is to be physically implemented in the region in the electronic design.