Method and system allowing for semiconductor design rule optimization
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- accessing, by a computer-aided design system, a library stored in a memory, said library comprising functional library elements and hybrid fill-placeable library elements; and
placing, by said computer-aided design system, both selected functional library elements and at least one selected hybrid fill-placeable library element in a layout of an integrated circuit chip under design,said selected hybrid fill-placeable library element being placed in said layout in order to meet, at one of a tile-level and a product-level, a first density rule directed to first features when any of said selected functional library elements violates said first density rule, andsaid selected hybrid fill-placeable library element comprising;
first fill shapes corresponding to said first features; and
a corresponding marker shape comprising an instruction that is executable by said computer-aided design system during design rule checking and that defines a custom design rule for said selected hybrid fill-placeable library element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are integrated circuit design systems and methods, wherein selected functional library elements are placed in a layout to meet product specifications and selected hybrid fill-placeable library elements are placed in that same layout to meet at least one feature density rule. Each hybrid fill-placeable library element comprises fill shapes corresponding to specific features subject to a density rule and a marker shape that provides an instruction to ignore any density rule violations within that element for purposes of design rule checking. Placement of the hybrid fill-placeable library elements is performed to balance out density rule violations in functional library elements elsewhere in the layout, thereby avoiding the need for post-processing of the completed IC design to add fill shapes. Optionally, each hybrid fill-placeable library element comprises different fill shapes at different levels and corresponding to different features so that it can be employed to meet multiple different density rules.
34 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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accessing, by a computer-aided design system, a library stored in a memory, said library comprising functional library elements and hybrid fill-placeable library elements; and placing, by said computer-aided design system, both selected functional library elements and at least one selected hybrid fill-placeable library element in a layout of an integrated circuit chip under design, said selected hybrid fill-placeable library element being placed in said layout in order to meet, at one of a tile-level and a product-level, a first density rule directed to first features when any of said selected functional library elements violates said first density rule, and said selected hybrid fill-placeable library element comprising; first fill shapes corresponding to said first features; and a corresponding marker shape comprising an instruction that is executable by said computer-aided design system during design rule checking and that defines a custom design rule for said selected hybrid fill-placeable library element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A computer-aided design system comprising:
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a memory storing a library comprising functional library elements and hybrid fill-placeable library elements; and at least one processor accessing said library and placing, in a layout of an integrated circuit chip, both selected functional library elements and at least one selected hybrid fill-placeable library element, said selected hybrid fill-placeable library element being placed in said layout in order to meet, at one of a tile-level and a product-level, a first density rule for first features when any of said selected functional elements violates said first density rule, and said selected hybrid fill-placeable library element comprising; first fill shapes corresponding to said first features; and a corresponding marker shape comprising an instruction that is executable by said processor during design rule checking and that defines a custom design rule for said selected hybrid fill-placeable library element. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A hybrid fill-placeable library element in a library stored on a computer-readable storage medium and accessible by a computer-aided design system during integrated circuit design,
said hybrid fill-placeable library element being selectable, by said computer, for placement in a layout of an integrated circuit chip under design in order to meet, at one of a tile-level and a product-level, a first density rule directed to first features when any functional library elements placed in said layout violate said first density rule, and said hybrid fill-placeable library element comprising: first fill shapes corresponding to said first features; and a corresponding marker shape comprising an instruction that is executable by said computer-aided design system during design rule checking and that defines a custom design rule for said hybrid fill-placeable library element. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification