Project 4: Layout design of CMOS circuits

Yuan-Ze University Department of Computer Science and Engineering Copyright by Rung-Bin Lin, 1999 All rights reserved Out: 4/28/2003 Due: 5/13/2003

Purpose:
This project is to make students becoming familiar with the commercial CAD tools employed to perform fully customized CMOS circuit layout.

Introduction:
Transistors are created by superimposing various layers of transistor-forming materials. The sizes of geometric objects and interrelationship among the objects on these layers (may be on the same layer) must satisfy some particular constraints such that the fabricated transistors can functionally and electrically correct. The constraints are usually collectively formulated as a set of layout design rules. The purpose of layout (also called physical layout or physical design) is to arrange the transistor-forming geometric objects under the constraints of layout design rules such that the fabricated transistors can perform their specified function. Layout design rules vary from one process technology to another, thus when the same circuit design is realized by two different processes, their layouts must be different. In this project one is supposed to employ a fully customized layout design flow based on Cadence tool set to perform physical layout of some basic circuits. (Cadence is a CAD tool vendor that sells various kinds of IC design CAD tools such as tools for logic simulation and synthesis, layout design and verification, placement and routing, etc. ) The fully customized design flow is shown in Figure 4.1. The layout design process starts from the target specifications. At this moment we have to set a target or constraint respectively on area, timing and power. For example, when a 4-input AND gate is designed, a target or constraint can be specified as follows: (1). area is less than 80um2, (2). power is less than 2 pico-Watt, and (3). rise and fall propagation delays are approximately 1.2 ns and output rise and fall times are approximately 0.6ns when input transition time is 0.5ns and output load is 0.3pF.
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Some other constraints about geometric shapes of a layout may be specified. Once this step is done, it then follows transistor circuit schematic design, carried out by Cadence Composer. The transistor sizes of p- and n-transistors must be specified such that the desired timing/power target can be reached. Timing and power measurements can be performed by Hspice circuit simulation. If timing and power do not meet the specifications, transistor sizes is tuned or circuit schematic is redesigned until the specifications are satisfied. Note that circuit simulation is also employed to check the correctness of functionality of a circuit.

Target speccifications

Circuit schematic design

NO

Composer Schematic Editor

Circuit simulation (timing/power meets specification?)

Hspice

YES

Layout design
NO

Virtuoso Layout Editor & Tech. file

NO

Layout verification and circuit extraction

Dracula Command files...............LVS , LPE, DRC, ERC

YES

Post layout circuit simulation (timing/power meets specifications)

Hspice

YES

Done

Figure 4.1. The fully customized layout design flow Layout design commences once a circuit design is completed. It is carried out by Cadence Layout Virtuoso Editor. At this moment, transistor-forming geometric objects are sketched under the constraints of layout design rules. The transistors are drawn according to the specified transistor sizes. After layout is completed, layout verification and circuit extraction are performed by Dracula tool set. Dracula includes tools for layout design rule check (DRC), layout parasitic capacitance extraction (LPE), layout parasitic resistance extraction (PRE), and layout versus schematic (LVS) comparison, etc. DRC, LPE, and PRE are intuitively understandable. Note that LPE also carries out circuit extraction. LVS is performed to ensure that the design represented by circuit schematic is functionally equivalent to the one represented by physical layout. This step is very important since an error during LVS usually indicates that there exists an error in schematics or/and layout of a circuit. The most creative task in the design flow shown in Figure 4.1 is the layout task. Some decisions about the width and locations of power/ground bus, the placement and orientation of transistors, the width of wires and their routing, etc. have to be made. Figure 4.2 shows a layout of a circuit. The circle on the layout is not a geometric object for the circuit and should be ignored.

Figure 4.2. A layout

Problem descriptions:
1. Design an inverter with a fixed-size pMOS (W=2um, L=1um, a=W, b=2um) and nMOS (W=1um, L=1um, a=W, b=2um) transistors. One has to follow the design
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flow shown in Figure 1. Perform Hspice simulation prior to layout (i.e., simply use the circuit design from the schematic) and after layout (ie., use the circuit extracted from layout) under a fixed output load (CL=0.1pF) and an input waveform with a fixed slope (rise-time=fall-time=0.5ns). (a). Compare the source, drain and gate capacitance extracted by LPE to those calculated in the problem (1) of the project 2. (b). Compare the rise/fall time (Tr and Tf) and propagation delay (Tdr and Tdf) for the circuit prior to layout to those for the circuit extracted from the layout. 2. Minimize the area of the layout for the circuit designed in (1) as much as possible by reducing the area of source/drain of the transistors or re-arranging the transistors. (a). Compare the area prior to and after layout. (b). Compare the post layout rise/fall time (Tr and Tf) and propagation delay (Tdr and Tdf) of this circuit to those of the circuit extracted in (1). 3. Cascade two inverter circuits designed in (2) to make a non-inverting buffer. Measure the rise/fall time (Tr and Tf) and propagation delay (Tdr and Tdf) of the buffer under the same input conditions and output load. 4. Design a 3-input NAND gate such that its rise/fall time (Tr and Tf) and propagation delay (Tdr and Tdf) are respectively about 0.5ns, 0.5ns, 1.5ns and 1.5ns and its area is minimized (with a fixed output load CL=0.4pF and input rise/fall times 0.5ns).

Notes:
All layouts designs must pass LVS and LPE. The final timing data should be generated using the netlist generated by LPE. A tutorial on the design flow shown in Figure 1 can be found on the web.

References:
[1]. HSPICE Users Manual, Meta-Software, 1990. [2]. Composer Tutorial, Cadence. [3]. Virtuoso Layout Editor Help, Cadence. [4]. Diva Interactive Verification Reference, Cadence. [5]. Dracula User Guide, Cadence.