Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for implementing pattern-based design enabled manufacturing of electronic circuit designs

• US 9,519,732 B1
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cadence Design Systems Incorporated (Cadence Group)
• Original Assignee: Cadence Design Systems Incorporated (Cadence Group)
• Inventors: Gennari, Frank E., Moskewicz, Matthew, Lai, Ya-Chieh
• Primary Examiner(s): Do, Thuan
• Application Number:
  US13/801,183
• Time in Patent Office: 1,371 Days
• Field of Search: 716/100, 716/136
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]
• 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 embodiments correlate various manufacturing or design information or data with patterns used to represent electronic designs and provide pertinent pattern-based information to metrology, fabrication, or testing tools to enhance their performances of their intended functions. Some embodiments further utilize cross-design or cross-process analytics to perform various pattern-based analyses on electronic designs. Some embodiments perform squish analysis with a squish pattern library on an electronic design to represent the electronic design with squish patterns by performing pattern matching, pattern decomposition, and pattern classification process.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for implementing pattern-based design enabled manufacturing of electronic circuit designs, comprising:

at least one processor or at least one processor core executing a process, the process comprising;

indexing a database using multiple patterns that represent data across one or more wafers, designs, processes, or foundries as database indices;

generating results that include a pattern identified from the electronic design of a pattern analysis at least by performing the pattern analysis on at least a portion of an electronic circuit design by using at least the database to identify the pattern from the electronic circuit design;

identifying a new pattern from at least the portion of the electronic circuit design, wherein the new pattern does not exist in the database;

tracking at least one pattern or the new pattern in the database to develop historical data for the at least one pattern; and

providing results of the pattern analysis to a manufacturing tool.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the manufacturing tool is to perform at least one of a metrology function, an inspection function, a fabrication process, and a testing on an electronic circuit that is fabricated according to the electronic circuit design.

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

overlaying a form of the results at a correct location relative to the electronic circuit in a display apparatus of the manufacturing tool that operates on the electronic circuit that is fabricated according to the electronic circuit design.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing pattern analysis comprises:

identifying an existing pattern from the database; and

profiling the at least a portion of the electronic circuit design based at least in part upon the existing pattern.

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

performing one or more statistical analyses on the historical data;

training the process by using at least results of the one or more statistical analyses; and

updating the database with at least some of the results of the one or more statistical analyses.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, in which the multiple patterns comprises a topological pattern or a squish pattern.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, in which the pattern analysis results comprise failure or violation information that has accuracy beyond accuracy limits of the manufacturing tool.

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

performing a search and replace process to replace a pattern in the at least a portion of the electronic circuit design by toggling one or more values stored in a data structure of the pattern based at least in part upon a replacement pattern.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising forwarding a compatible form of at least some of the pattern analysis results to one or more additional analyses that comprise at least one of a yield analysis, a defect or failure analysis, and a tape-out analysis.

10. A system for implementing pattern-based design enabled manufacturing of electronic circuit designs, comprising:

at least one processor or at least one processor core that is at least to;

index a database using multiple patterns that represent data across one or more wafers, designs, processes, or foundries as database indices;

generate results that include a pattern identified from the electronic design of a pattern analysis at least by performing the pattern analysis on at least a portion of an electronic circuit design by using at least the database to identify the pattern from the electronic circuit design;

identify a new pattern from at least the portion of the electronic circuit design, wherein the new pattern does not exist in the database;

track at least one pattern or the new pattern in the database to develop historical data for the at least one pattern; and

provide results of the pattern analysis to a manufacturing tool.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the manufacturing tool is to perform at least one of a metrology function, an inspection function, a fabrication process, and a testing on an electronic circuit that is fabricated according to the electronic circuit design.

12. The system of claim 11, in which the at least one processor or at least one processor core is further to:

overlay a form of the results at a correct location relative to the electronic circuit in a display apparatus of the manufacturing tool that operates on the electronic circuit that is fabricated according to the electronic circuit design.

13. The system of claim 10, in which the at least one processor or at least one processor core that is to perform pattern analysis is further to:

identify an existing pattern from the database; and

profile the at least a portion of the electronic circuit design based at least in part upon the existing pattern.

14. The system of claim 10, in which the at least one processor or at least one processor core is further to:

perform one or more statistical analyses on the historical data;

train the process by using at least results of the one or more statistical analyses; and

update the database with at least some of the results of the one or more statistical analyses.

15. The system of claim 10, in which the at least one processor or at least one processor core is further to:

perform a search and replace process to replace a pattern in the at least a portion of the electronic circuit design by toggling one or more values stored in a data structure of the pattern based at least in part upon a replacement pattern.

16. The system of claim 10, in which the at least one processor or at least one processor core is further to forward a compatible form of at least some of the results of analyzing the at least a portion of the electronic circuit design to one or more additional analyses that comprise at least one of a yield analysis, a defect or failure analysis, and a tape-out analysis.

17. 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 method for implementing pattern-based design enabled manufacturing of electronic circuit designs, the method comprising:

at least one processor or at least one processor core executing a process, the process comprising;

indexing a database using multiple patterns that represent data across one or more wafers, designs, processes, or foundries as database indices;

generating results that include a pattern identified from the electronic design of a pattern analysis at least by performing the pattern analysis on at least a portion of an electronic circuit design by using at least the database to identify the pattern from the electronic circuit design;

identifying a new pattern from at least the portion of the electronic circuit design, wherein the new pattern does not exist in the database;

tracking at least one pattern or the new pattern in the database to develop historical data for the at least one pattern; and

providing results of the pattern analysis to a manufacturing tool.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the manufacturing tool is to perform at least one of a metrology function, an inspection function, a fabrication process, and a testing on an electronic circuit that is fabricated according to the electronic circuit design.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 18, the process further comprising:

overlaying a form of the results at a correct location relative to the electronic circuit in a display apparatus of the manufacturing tool that operates on the electronic circuit that is fabricated according to the electronic circuit design.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 17, the act of analyzing at least a portion of an electronic circuit design comprising:

identifying an existing pattern from the database; and

profiling the at least a portion of the electronic circuit design based at least in part upon the existing pattern.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 17, the process further comprising:

performing one or more statistical analyses on the historical data;

training the process by using at least results of the one or more statistical analyses; and

updating the database with at least some of the results of the one or more statistical analyses.

22. The article of manufacture of claim 17, the process further comprising:

performing a search and replace process to replace a pattern in the at least a portion of the electronic circuit design by toggling one or more values stored in a data structure of the pattern based at least in part upon a replacement pattern.

23. The article of manufacture of claim 17, further comprising forwarding a compatible form of at least some of the pattern analysis results to one or more additional analyses that comprise at least one of a yield analysis, a defect or failure analysis, and a tape-out analysis.