Method and apparatus for calibrating static timing analyzer to path delay measurements
First Claim
1. A method of calibrating a circuit analyzer, comprising:
- determining a plurality of initial technology parameters characterizing a circuit according to a timing model of said circuit;
expressing a delay along an entire logic path of said circuit as a function of said technology parameters;
determining a set of circuit paths having fixed topology, device sizes, and wire capacitances; and
optimizing said technology parameters to minimize a plurality of errors over said set of circuit paths to obtain optimized parameters for use in said timing model.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for calibrating a circuit analyzer includes determining a plurality of initial technology parameters characterizing the circuit according to a timing model of the circuit. A delay along an entire logic path of the circuit is expressed as a function of the technology parameters. A benchmark set of circuit paths is determined which has fixed topology, device sizes, and wire capacitances. The technology parameters are then optimized to minimize error over the set of circuit paths to obtain optimized parameters for use in the timing model. The optimized technology parameters minimize the average error for the benchmark set of paths relative to SPICE or physical measurements. Average error is significantly reduced on a representative set of paths when compared to the conventional approach of separately measuring each parameter.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of calibrating a circuit analyzer, comprising:
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determining a plurality of initial technology parameters characterizing a circuit according to a timing model of said circuit; expressing a delay along an entire logic path of said circuit as a function of said technology parameters; determining a set of circuit paths having fixed topology, device sizes, and wire capacitances; and optimizing said technology parameters to minimize a plurality of errors over said set of circuit paths to obtain optimized parameters for use in said timing model. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An apparatus for calibrating a circuit analyzer, comprising:
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means for determining a plurality of initial technology parameters characterizing a circuit according to a timing model of said circuit; means for expressing a delay along an entire logic path of said circuit as a function of said technology parameters; means for determining a set of circuit paths having fixed topology, device sizes, and wire capacitances; and a processor including means for optimizing said technology parameters to minimize a plurality of errors over said set of circuit paths to obtain optimized parameters for use in said timing model. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A circuit analyzer for generating a graphic representation of a predicted performance of a circuit, the circuit analyzer comprising:
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an input device for inputting a plurality of circuit parameters representing said circuit; memory and stored programs for receiving and storing said circuit parameters; a processor that is controlled by said stored programs and accesses said circuit parameters such that said processor; expresses a delay along an entire logic path of said circuit as a function of said circuit parameters, determines a set of circuit paths having fixed topology, device sizes, and wire capacitances, determines said circuit parameters to predict the performance of the circuit, and determines optimum circuit parameters to minimize a plurality of errors over said set of circuit paths to obtain optimized parameters for use in said processing means; and an output device that generates a graphic representation from said processed circuit parameters. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification