High voltage and multiple power domain designs need a little TLC (and automated VA-DRC)
By Sherif Hany – Mentor, A Siemens Business
High-voltage and multiple power domain applications demand high reliability. Calibre PERC enhanced voltage-aware DRC delivers, with exacting accuracy and actionable, context-aware results that support design success.
Regardless of the technology node they’re using, companies who create high-voltage and multiple power domain designs need exacting accuracy to achieve the high reliability and high yield required for market success. But the complexity of spacing checks in today’s design rules, driven by tightly-packed layouts in which a high-voltage net is often routed closely to a low-voltage net, are making it tougher and tougher to comply with all the process, reliability, and power management requirements. Time for a little design TLC…
Voltage-aware design rule spacing checks (VA-DRC) let designers combine electrical and physical information to determine the correct spacing between polygons based on voltage values. VA-DRC checking approaches currently in use face multiple challenges, from error-prone manual net annotation to a lack of guidance when debugging and fixing geometric violations that include an electrical component. The Calibre platform enables designers to perform automated context-aware voltage propagation and annotation for the voltage domains of each polygon/net, and determines the correct spacing based on the absolute or delta voltages of those nets. It also enhances output results by associating the net voltage domain information to the spacing violations, providing actionable feedback (including the electrical component) to assist the designer in the debugging and fixing phases.
A context-aware VA-DRC flow is becoming essential for the enablement and successful manufacture of reliable high-voltage and multiple power domain applications, such as power management and automotive electronics. By leveraging the power of both the Calibre® nmDRC™ and Calibre PERC™ platforms, Calibre VA-DRC provides the accuracy and precision required in design reliability verification.
To get the full details on how you can improve the accuracy of your VA-DRC checks, perform more accurate and efficient debugging, and reinforce proven reliability optimization strategies, download our white paper, Calibre PERC advanced voltage-aware DRC delivers exacting accuracy for today’s complex designs. Maybe you can even show yourself a little TLC and go home on time, instead of spending all those nights in front of your monitor…
