Electronic circuit designing method and apparatus, and storage medium

• US 20050086626A1
• Filed: 11/22/2004
• Published: 04/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Kazumasa, Fujimori, Shogo, Sato, Toshiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,398,497 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 716/112
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/30 Circuit design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/367 Design verification, e.g. using simulation, simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis [SPICE], direct methods or relaxation methods

Abstract

An electronic circuit designing method and apparatus designs an electronic circuit by CAD, by generating design constraints with respect to the electronic circuit based on at least one of general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit, user requirements defined by a user, and user resources defined by the user, and urging an input to the user by displaying the design constraints.

Claims

1. An electronic circuit designing method for designing an electronic circuit by CAD, comprising the steps of:

(a) generating design constraints with respect to the electronic circuit based on at least one of general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit, user requirements defined by a user, and user resources defined by the user; and

(b) urging an input to the user by displaying the design constraints.

2. The electronic circuit designing method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(c) carrying out a mapping based on the design constraints and circuit information having the design constraints related thereto.

3. The electronic circuit designing method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of:

(d) carrying out a wiring operation if a result of the mapping satisfies the design constraints.

4. The electronic circuit designing method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user requirements include at least one of requirements selected from a group consisting of signal integrity and delay, electromagnetic interference and/or electromagnetic compatibility limitations, junction temperature, cost and reliability.

5. The electronic circuit designing method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user resources include at least one of resources selected from a group consisting of substrate specifications, device specifications and junction temperatures.

6. The electronic circuit designing method as claimed in claim 5, wherein:

the substrate specifications include at least one factor selected from a group consisting of substrate technology, number of layers, layer structure, thickness, via and land specifications, minimum line width and minimum pitch;

the device specifications include at least one factor selected from a group consisting of kind of device, electrical characteristic, power consumption characteristic, device package and method or kind of thermal conduction, kind of heat radiator fins, reliability and cost; and

the junction temperatures include at least one factor selected from a group consisting of ambient temperature, air supplying structure, fan specifications, air flow direction and amount of air flow.

7. The electronic circuit designing method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(c) inputting at least one of the general layout and wiring information, the user requirements and the user resources.

8. The electronic circuit designing method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each item of the user resources includes priority information indicating respective priorities, and said step (a) generates the design constraints by selecting the items of the user resources in an order according to priority starting from the item having a highest priority.

9. The electronic circuit designing method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said step (a) includes:

setting initial values of the design constraints or listing candidates of a rule-based solution on a display;

making an analysis using an analyzing tool by changing parameter values in a predetermined range, and enlarging a search range by searching a solution space satisfying the user requirements or, carrying out a simulation using the analyzing tool so as to narrow the solution satisfying the user requirements; and

generating and displaying a plurality of candidates of the design constraints on the display with respect to the user.

10. An electronic circuit designing apparatus for designing an electronic circuit by CAD, comprising:

generating means for generating design constraints with respect to the electronic circuit based on at least one of general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit, user requirements defined by a user, and user resources defined by the user; and

urging means for urging an input to the user by displaying the design constraints.

11. The electronic circuit designing apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the user requirements include at least one of requirements selected from a group consisting of signal integrity and delay, electromagnetic interference and/or electromagnetic compatibility limitations, junction temperature, cost and reliability.

12. The electronic circuit designing apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the user resources include at least one of resources selected from a group consisting of substrate specifications, device specifications and junction temperatures.

13. The electronic circuit designing apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein:

the substrate specifications include at least one factor selected from a group consisting of substrate technology, number of layers, layer structure, thickness, via and land specifications, minimum line width and minimum pitch;

the device specifications include at least one factor selected from a group consisting of kind of device, electrical characteristic, power consumption characteristic, device package and apparatus or kind of thermal conduction, kind of heat radiator fins, reliability and cost; and

the junction temperatures include at least one factor selected from a group consisting of ambient temperature, air supplying structure, fan specifications, air flow direction and amount of air flow.

14. The electronic circuit designing apparatus as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

means for inputting at least one of the general layout and wiring information, the user requirements and the user resources.

15. The electronic circuit designing apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein each item of the user resources includes priority information indicating respective priorities, and said generating means generates the design constraints by selecting the items of the user resources in an order according to priority starting from the item having a highest priority.

16. The electronic circuit designing apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said generating means includes:

means for setting initial values of the design constraints or listing candidates of a rule-based solution on a display;

means for making an analysis using an analyzing tool by changing parameter values in a predetermined range, and enlarging a search range by searching a solution space satisfying the user requirements or, carrying out a simulation using the analyzing tool so as to narrow the solution satisfying the user requirements; and

means for generating and displaying a plurality of candidates of the design constraints on the display with respect to the user.

17. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a generating procedure causing the computer to generate design constraints with respect to the electronic circuit based on at least one of general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit, user requirements defined by a user, and user resources defined by the user; and

an urging procedure causing the computer to urge an input to the user by displaying the design constraints.

18. The computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 17, wherein the user requirements include at least one of requirements selected from a group consisting of signal integrity and delay, electromagnetic interference and/or electromagnetic compatibility limitations, junction temperature, cost and reliability.

19. The computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 17, wherein the user resources include at least one of resources selected from a group consisting of substrate specifications, device specifications and junction temperatures.

20. The computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 19, wherein:

the substrate specifications include at least one factor selected from a group consisting of substrate technology, number of layers, layer structure, thickness, via and land specifications, minimum line width and minimum pitch;

the device specifications include at least one factor selected from a group consisting of kind of device, electrical characteristic, power consumption characteristic, device package and method or kind of thermal conduction, kind of heat radiator fins, reliability and cost; and

the junction temperatures include at least one factor selected from a group consisting of ambient temperature, air supplying structure, fan specifications, air flow direction and amount of air flow.

21. The computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 17, said program further comprising:

an inputting procedure causing the computer to input at least one of the general layout and wiring information, the user requirements and the user resources.

22. The computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 17, wherein each item of the user resources includes priority information indicating respective priorities, and said generating procedure causes the computer to generate the design constraints by selecting the items of the user resources in an order according to priority starting from the item having a highest priority.

23. The computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 17, wherein said generating procedure causes the computer to:

set initial values of the design constraints or listing candidates of a rule-based solution on a display;

make an analysis using an analyzing tool by changing parameter values in a predetermined range, and enlarging a search range by searching a solution space satisfying the user requirements or, carrying out a simulation using the analyzing tool so as to narrow the solution satisfying the user requirements; and

generate and display a plurality of candidates of the design constraints on the display with respect to the user.

24. An electronic circuit designing method for designing an electronic circuit by CAD, comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining initial values of design constraints with respect to the electronic circuit;

(b) making an analysis by changing parameter values in a predetermined range, so as to enlarge or reduce the initial values of the design constraints; and

(c) generating the design constraints by automatically enlarging or reducing the initial values of the design constraints by automatically changing the parameter values, based on device layout constraint definitions including at least one of definitions related to a device layout prohibited region and a movable region of each device.

25. The electronic circuit designing method as claimed in claim 24, further comprising the step of:

(d) regenerating the design constraints by automatically enlarging or reducing the design constraints again, based on a device layout constraint definition which is added after generation of the design constraints.

26. An electronic circuit designing apparatus for designing an electronic circuit by CAD, comprising:

means for obtaining initial values of design constraints with respect to the electronic circuit;

means for making an analysis by changing parameter values in a predetermined range, so as to enlarge or reduce the initial values of the design constraints; and

means for generating the design constraints by automatically enlarging or reducing the initial values of the design constraints by automatically changing the parameter values, based on device layout constraint definitions including at least one of definitions related to a device layout prohibited region and a movable region of each device.

27. The electronic circuit designing apparatus as claimed in claim 26, further comprising:

means for regenerating the design constraints by automatically enlarging or reducing the design constraints again, based on a device layout constraint definition which is added after generation of the design constraints.

28. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to obtain initial values of design constraints with respect to the electronic circuit;

a procedure causing the computer to make an analysis by changing parameter values in a predetermined range, so as to enlarge or reduce the initial values of the design constraints; and

a procedure causing the computer to generate the design constraints by automatically enlarging or reducing the initial values of the design constraints by automatically changing the parameter values, based on device layout constraint definitions including at least one of definitions related to a device layout prohibited region and a movable region of each device.

29. The computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 28, said program further comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to regenerate the design constraints by automatically enlarging or reducing the design constraints again, based on a device layout constraint definition which is added after generation of the design constraints.

30. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to wire, edit and display a plurality of wiring patterns forming a bus as a region, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

31. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to display a plurality of nets forming a bus as a region, in a net display which represents a connection relationship of pins of parts included in the electronic circuit, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

32. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit;

a procedure causing the computer to specify values of a number of patterns forming a bus, a pattern pitch and a pattern width, when displaying the general layout and wiring information; and

a procedure causing the computer to display a region with a width based on the specified values.

33. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to display at least one pattern as a representative pattern within a bus region which represents a wiring pattern as a region, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

34. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to display at least one net as a representative net within a bus region which represents a connecting net as a region, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

35. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to create and display a plurality of pins within a part included in the electronic circuit as a region, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

36. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to generate, when creating a pin region included in the electronic circuit, the pin region by identifying a range where a region is definable by specifying a pin region layout type of a part, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

37. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to display at least one pin as a representative pin within a pin region included in the electronic circuit, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

38. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to create and display a via, which connects to each of a plurality of wiring patterns forming a bus, as a region, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

39. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to display at least one via as a representative via within a via region included in the electronic circuit, when displaying the general layout and wiring pattern.

40. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to specify and change a shape of a via region which is included in the electronic circuit by taking into consideration a diameter, layout pitch and layout position of vias, when displaying the general layout and wiring pattern.

41. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to create and display, when inserting the same part in each of a plurality of wiring patterns forming a bus or a connecting net, a part which is to be connected, as a region, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

42. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to specify and change a shape of a part region which is included in the electronic circuit by taking into consideration a part external shape, layout pitch and layout position, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

43. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to display at least one part shape as a representative part within a part region which is included in the electronic circuit, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

44. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to connect a via region, a bus region, a pin region and a part region included in the electronic circuit, when displaying the general layout and wiring information.

45. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit;

a procedure causing the computer to make an analysis using an analyzing tool based on information related to a representative pin, a representative pattern or representative net, a representative via and a representative part included in the electronic circuit, when displaying the general layout and wiring information; and

a procedure causing the computer to create design constraints of wirings forming a bus based on a result of the analysis.

46. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for causing a computer to design an electronic circuit by CAD, said program comprising:

a procedure causing the computer to display general layout and wiring information related to devices and wirings included in the electronic circuit; and

a procedure causing the computer to make a crosstalk noise analysis based on data related to layout and wiring using a bus region, a part pin region and a via region included in the electronic circuit and information related to a wiring pitch set for the bus region, and to create design constraints of a bus based on a result of the crosstalk noise analysis.