Are you tired of manually extracting pins, analyzing connectivity, modeling blockages, creating sites, and calculating overlap in your complex design?
In the complex world of chip design, extracting critical information from detailed layouts can be difficult. To overcome these challenges, many designers are turning to innovative solutions like abstract generation. By converting detailed layout information into high-level abstracts, designers can gain a comprehensive view of their design and significantly enhance the performance of place-and-route tools like Innovus.
Introducing the Virtuoso Abstract Generator, a powerful library modeling tool that simplifies the creation of abstracts for standard cells, macroblocks, and IOs from detailed layout information in LEF, DEF, and GDSII formats. These abstracts provide a high-level representation of a layout view, capturing essential details such as cell type and size, pin/terminal positions, and blockage sizes. By generating abstracts, designers can accelerate their design process and improve overall productivity.
In this blog, you will explore the benefits and best practices of using the Virtuoso Abstract Generator to streamline your design workflow.
To achieve an accurate abstract view, follow these steps:
- The Abstract Generator's Pins step automatically derives pin shapes from text labels in the layout view and positions them accordingly. This initial step generates terminals, physical pin shapes, and the place-and-route boundary, as the layout view usually does not define pins. The Abstract Generator sets the stage for the subsequent abstract generation process by generating pins.
- The Extract step enables the extraction of geometries from signal and power nets and the calculation of process antenna information. It builds a database model for strong, weak, and must-connect pins by tracing connectivity between shapes and terminals. It also generates antenna information for custom blocks and standard cells.
- The Abstract step is a crucial part of the abstract generation process. It refines pin shapes, creates sites, and calculates overlapping layers and various types of blockages, including Detailed, Cover, and Shrink for each layer. This allows for precise control over blockage modeling and the removal of blockages around pins for better router access, facilitating effective management of routing blockages in your design. This step generates a Library Exchange Format (LEF) file that contains critical information on routing grids, placement sites, and pin fracturing.
You can run the executable as a standalone application or within the Virtuoso Studio design environment.
- The Standalone Abstract Generator interface caters to both novice and experienced designers, providing an intuitive layout with robust features. Designers can receive updates, backtrack easily, and get feedback to refine designs. It integrates with the Open Library for importing GDSII and logical data, managing bin options for various steps, and modifying generated abstracts for precise control. You can access the generator by typing 'abstract &' at the command line to explore efficient design options.
- The Integrated Abstract Generator in Virtuoso Studio simplifies your design workflow by enabling abstract creation directly within the layout environment. It offers essential GUI options concisely, with frequently used features that are easily accessible and additional options available through progressive disclosure field.
- The Dynamic Abstract Generation creates real-time abstracts for PCells, storing data in memory and annotating it to PCell submasters. The 'dual view' enables routers to interact with layouts without re-mastering directly. It has been developed especially for device-level routing. It's implemented by the Virtuoso Space-based Router (VSR) and Create Wire command to prevent routing over devices.
In conclusion, the Virtuoso Abstract Generator simplifies abstract creation for complex chip designs, enhancing design workflow and the performance of place-and-route tools.
Enroll in the Course Virtuoso Abstract Generator IC23.1 to learn more about Virtuoso abstract Generator.
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