Data processing system for designing a layout of an integrated electronic circuit having a multiplicity of electronic components and method of designing a layout

• US 6,842,887 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2002
• Issued: 01/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Polaris Innovations Limited (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Müller, Uwe
• Primary Examiner(s): Siek, Vuthe
• Assistant Examiner(s): LIN, SUN J
• Application Number:
  US10/261,194
• Publication Number:
  US 20030070152A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: 716/11, 716/10, 716/8, 716/1
• US Class Current: 716/112
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/39 Circuit design at the physical level physical level design for reconfigurable circuits G06F30/347

Abstract

A data processing system includes a data memory, in which data are stored, the data representing a set of predetermined geometrical basic forms and a set of geometrical operations that can be applied to the basic forms. The basic forms form place markers for electronic components in the layout. In other words, each component is represented by a geometrical basic form or a combination of a plurality of geometrical basic forms. The basic forms can be altered during the layout design by application of the geometrical operations. Such alteration creates a large margin of freedom in the design. On the other hand, the unaltered original basic forms are examined for verification of the layout design. As a result, the verification is simplified and “dummy” errors that are often a consequence of the complexity of a design are avoided. A method for designing the layout with the system is also provided.

Claims

1. A data processing system for designing a layout of an integrated electronic circuit having a multiplicity of electronic components, comprising:

a processor programmed to process data including;

first data defining;

a predetermined set of geometrical basic forms through a multiplicity of basic-form-specific and permanent geometrical parameters; and

a predetermined assignment of each of the electronic components of a layout design to the respective one of the geometrical parameters defining at least one of the geometrical basic forms; and

second data representing a multiplicity of geometrical operations, the geometrical operations to be applied to the geometrical basic forms to form geometrical figures differing from the geometrical basic forms, the geometrical parameters defining a geometrical basic form unalterable through application of one of the geometrical operations to the geometrical basic form, the geometrical figures representing the electronic components; and

a data memory connected to said processor and storing the data, said processor programmed to at least one of store the data in said data memory and read the data from said data memory.

2. The data processing system according to claim 1, wherein said processor is programmed to retrieve the data relating to the geometrical basic forms from said data memory and to check the layout design by applying a predetermined set of layout rules to the geometrical parameters represented by the retrieved data.

3. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein each of the geometrical parameters describes a form of a respectively assigned geometrical basic form.

4. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein each of the geometrical parameters describes an absolute position of a respectively assigned geometrical basic form in a reference system defined with respect to the layout design.

5. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein each of the geometrical parameters describes a relative position of a respectively assigned geometrical basic form with respect to other geometrical basic forms in a reference system defined with respect to the layout design.

6. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein each of the geometrical parameters describes an orientation of a respectively assigned geometrical basic form in a reference system defined with respect to the layout design, from which an orientation of an assigned electronic component can be derived respectively.

7. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein each of the geometrical parameters describes an orientation of a respectively assigned geometrical basic form relative to other geometrical basic forms in a reference system defined with respect to the layout design, from which an orientation of an assigned electronic component relative to an orientation of an electronic components assigned to other geometrical basic forms can be derived respectively.

8. The data processing system according to claim 6, wherein said processor is programmed to form the respective one of the geometrical parameters describing the orientation with a unit vector.

9. The data processing system according to claim 7, wherein said processor is programmed to form the respective one of the geometrical parameters describing the orientation with a unit vector.

10. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein each of the geometrical parameters describes at least one of the position and the profile of edges of a respectively assigned geometrical basic form in a reference system defined with respect to the layout design.

11. The data processing system according to claim 10, wherein each of the geometrical parameters describes a length of the edges of the respectively assigned geometrical basic form.

12. The data processing system according to claim 2, wherein said processor is programmed to form a set of the geometrical basic forms with a predetermined set of polygons.

13. The data processing system according to claim 12, wherein the predetermined set of polygons contain at least one geometrical basic form selected from the group consisting of a rectangle, an N-track without branching, a triangle, a trapezoid, and an N-track with branching.

14. The data processing system according to claim 13, wherein said processor is programmed to form each geometrical figure produced by application of a geometrical operation to a geometrical basic form with a polygon.

15. The data processing system according to claim 13, wherein each geometrical figure produced by application of a geometrical operation to a geometrical basic form forms a polygon.

16. The data processing system according to claim 1, including:

a user input device connected to said processor for transmitting information from a user;

a display connected to said processor for displaying information; and

said processor being programmed;

to generate a first output signal to display information representing the geometrical basic forms and the geometrical operations at said display; and

to select displayed geometrical basic forms and geometrical operations based upon the information input to said user input device to apply a selected geometrical operation to a selected geometrical basic form and, as a result thereof, said processor being programmed to generate and store the data in said data memory representing an assignment of the selected geometrical basic form to the selected geometrical operation.

17. The data processing system according to claim 16, wherein said display is a screen.

18. The data processing system according to claim 16, wherein said processor is programmed:

to calculate a geometrical figure formed by application of the selected geometrical operation to the selected geometrical basic form; and

to generate a second output signal to display the geometrical figure at said display.

19. The data processing system according to claim 18, wherein said processor is programmed to apply the selected geometrical operation to change the selected geometrical basic form only with respect to a shape of the geometrical figure formed.

20. The data processing system according to claim 18, wherein said processor is programmed to change the selected geometrical basic form only with respect to shape from the geometrical figure formed by application of the selected geometrical operation.

21. The data processing system according to claim 16, wherein:

said user input device, said display, and said processor form a graphical user interface; and

said processor is programmed to interactively modify displayed geometrical basic forms to be selected through said graphical user interface.

22. The data processing system according to claim 16, wherein said processor is programmed:

to provide a graphical user interface through said user input device and said display; and

to interactively modify displayed geometrical basic forms to be selected with said graphical user interface.

23. A method for designing a layout of an integrated electronic circuit having electronic components, which comprises:

retrieving data from a data memory, the data representing geometrical basic forms;

assigning each of the electronic components of the electronic circuit to at least one of the geometrical basic forms;

selecting and configuring one of selected geometrical basic forms within a reference system defined for the layout design;

retrieving data from the data memory, the retrieved data representing a multiplicity of geometrical operations possible for application to the geometrical basic forms;

selecting and applying one of the geometrical operations to the geometrical basic form selected in the selecting and configuring step to generate a geometrical figure differing in shape from the geometrical basic form, the geometrical figure representing at least one of the electronic components; and

generating and storing data representing an assignment of the geometrical basic form selected in the selecting and configuring step to the selected geometrical operation applied thereto.

24. A computer program for designing a layout of an integrated electronic circuit having electronic components on a computer, which comprises the steps of:

retrieving data from a data memory, the data representing geometrical basic forms;

assigning each of the electronic components of the electronic circuit to at least one of the geometrical basic forms;

selecting and configuring one of selected geometrical basic forms within a reference system defined for the layout design;

retrieving data from the data memory, the retrieved data representing a multiplicity of geometrical operations possible for application to the geometrical basic forms;

selecting and applying one of the geometrical operations to the geometrical basic form selected in the selecting and configuring step to generate a geometrical figure differing in shape from the geometrical basic form, the geometrical figure representing at least one of the electronic components; and

generating and storing data representing an assignment of the geometrical basic form selected in the selecting and configuring step to the selected geometrical operation applied thereto.

25. A method for designing a layout of an integrated electronic circuit having electronic components, which comprises:

providing data in a data memory, a first portion of the data representing geometrical basic forms and a second portion of the data representing a set of geometrical operations to be applied to a respective one of the geometrical basic forms;

retrieving at least some of the first portion of the data from the data memory;

assigning each of the electronic components of the electronic circuit to at least one of the geometrical basic forms;

selecting and configuring one of the selected geometrical basic forms within a reference system defined for the layout design;

retrieving at least some of the second portion of the data from the data memory;

selecting and applying one of the geometrical operations to the geometrical basic form selected in the selecting and configuring step to generate a geometrical figure differing in shape from the geometrical basic form, the geometrical figure representing at least one of the electronic components; and

generating and storing data representing an assignment of the geometrical basic form selected in the selecting and configuring step to the selected geometrical operation applied thereto.

26. A computer program for designing a layout of an integrated electronic circuit having electronic components on a computer, which comprises the steps of:

providing data in a data memory, a first portion of the data representing geometrical basic forms and a second portion of the data representing a set of geometrical operations to be applied to a respective one of the geometrical basic forms;

retrieving at least some of the first portion of the data from the data memory;

assigning each of the electronic components of the electronic circuit to at least one of the geometrical basic forms;

selecting and configuring one of the selected geometrical basic forms within a reference system defined for the layout design;

retrieving at least some of the second portion of the data from the data memory;

selecting and applying one of the geometrical operations to the geometrical basic form selected in the selecting and configuring step to generate a geometrical figure differing in shape from the geometrical basic form, the geometrical figure representing at least one of the electronic components; and

generating and storing data representing an assignment of the geometrical basic form selected in the selecting and configuring step to the selected geometrical operation applied thereto.

27. A data processing system for designing a layout of an integrated electronic circuit, comprising:

a first data memory storing data entries each having a set of parameters representing a predetermined geometrical basic form;

a second data memory storing first data representing a multiplicity of geometrical figures; and

a processor connected to said first data memory and to said second data memory, said processor programmed;

to read the first data;

to process the first data and ascertain correspondence of each of the geometrical figures represented by the first data to one of the sets of parameters; and

to generate second data representing an assignment of each of the geometrical figures to a respective one of the geometrical basic forms to whose set of parameters correspondence was ascertained, the geometrical figures representing at least one of the electronic components.