Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction

Student Workbook

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Part Number: 073542

 Table of Contents
Module 1: Extraction Basics: ............................................................................... 13
Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 14

About Terminology ............................................................................................................................ 15

More Terminology ............................................................................................................................. 16

About Command Syntax .................................................................................................................... 17

Design Challenges Due to Nanometer Effects ................................................................................... 18

The Goal of Extraction ....................................................................................................................... 19

How Extraction Helps ........................................................................................................................ 20

Typical Extraction Scenarios ............................................................................................................. 21

Exploring Factors That Impact Extraction ......................................................................................... 22

Who Needs Extraction? ...................................................................................................................... 23

Parasitic Extraction in Your Design Flow .......................................................................................... 24

Overview of the Parasitic Extraction Process .................................................................................... 25

Prerequisites for Extraction ................................................................................................................ 26

Inputs to the Extraction Process ......................................................................................................... 27

What Is Extracted? ............................................................................................................................. 28

Types of Parasitic Networks .............................................................................................................. 29

Resistance, Capacitance, and Coupled Cap (-rcc) .............................................................................. 30

Resistance Plus Capacitance (-rc) or (-rcc) ........................................................................................ 31

Coupling Plus Intrinsic (-c) ................................................................................................................ 32

Coupling Added to Ground (-c -g) ..................................................................................................... 33

Distributed Resistance (-r) ................................................................................................................. 34

Ideal Netlist (-simple)......................................................................................................................... 35

Summary of Parasitic Networks ......................................................................................................... 36

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction I

 Table of Contents
Outputs From Extraction .................................................................................................................... 37

Additional Resources for Module 1 ................................................................................................... 38

Lab 1 ................................................................................................................................................... 39

Module 2: Calibre xRC Basics: ............................................................................ 41

Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 42

Invoking Calibre xRC ........................................................................................................................ 43

PEX Graphical User Interface ............................................................................................................ 44

PEX Options ....................................................................................................................................... 45

PEX Inputs ......................................................................................................................................... 46

PEX Outputs ....................................................................................................................................... 47

Invoking Calibre xRC From the PEX GUI ........................................................................................ 48

Working With Runsets ....................................................................................................................... 50

Extraction With Calibre xRC ............................................................................................................. 51

Running Individual Stages Through the PEX GUI ............................................................................ 52

Dependencies Between Extraction Stages ......................................................................................... 53

Stage 1 – Building the Database of Intentional Devices .................................................................... 54

Stage 1 – Building the Database of Intentional Devices .................................................................... 55

Stage 1 – About the PHDB ................................................................................................................ 56

Stage 1 – Generating the PHDB Using Calibre LVS-H..................................................................... 57

Stage 1 – Generating the PHDB Using Calibre xRC ......................................................................... 58

Stage 1 – Command Syntax for Calibre LVS-H ................................................................................ 59

Stage 1 – Command Syntax for Calibre xRC .................................................................................... 60

Stage 2 – Extracting Parasitics ........................................................................................................... 61

Stage 2 – About the PDB ................................................................................................................... 62

Stage 2 – Invoking Calibre to Extract Parasitic Devices.................................................................... 63

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction II

 Table of Contents
Stage 3 – Generating an Extracted Netlist ......................................................................................... 64

Stage 3 – Files and Databases Created ............................................................................................... 65

Stage 3 – Invoking Calibre to Generate the Parasitic Netlist ............................................................. 67

Extracting Multiple Parasitic Netlists From One PDB ...................................................................... 68

Summary of Extraction Stages ........................................................................................................... 69

Overview of Command Line Invocation ............................................................................................ 70

Controlling Calibre Extraction ........................................................................................................... 71

SVRF Rule Files Used for Extraction ................................................................................................ 72

Relating GUI to Command Line ........................................................................................................ 73

Getting Help ....................................................................................................................................... 74

Review of the PEX GUI ..................................................................................................................... 75

Additional Resources for Module 2 ................................................................................................... 76

Lab 2 ................................................................................................................................................... 77

Module 3: Running Calibre xRC:........................................................................ 79

Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 80

Basic Extraction Work Flow Scenarios ............................................................................................. 81

Factors That Impact Run Time........................................................................................................... 82

Setting Up Calibre xRC for Best Performance .................................................................................. 83

Invoking Calibre Interactive From a Layout Viewer ......................................................................... 84

Using Calibre Multi-Threaded to Enhance Performance ................................................................... 85

Reviewing Transcripts and Reports ................................................................................................... 86

Watching the Run Progress ................................................................................................................ 87

Recognizing a "Successful" Run ........................................................................................................ 88

Generating Extraction Reports ........................................................................................................... 89

Lumped Parasitics Report .................................................................................................................. 90

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction III

 Table of Contents
Generating a Lumped Parasitics Report ............................................................................................. 91

Net Summary Report .......................................................................................................................... 92

Generating a Net Summary Report .................................................................................................... 93

Coupling Capacitance Report............................................................................................................. 94

Generating a Coupling Capacitance Report ....................................................................................... 95

Point2Point Resistance Report ........................................................................................................... 96

Sample Point2Point Input File ........................................................................................................... 97

Generating a Point2Point Resistance Report ..................................................................................... 99

Inspecting Parasitics ......................................................................................................................... 100

Setting Up for After-Run Review .................................................................................................... 101

Reviewing the Extracted Netlist ....................................................................................................... 102

Understanding Hierarchical Netlists ................................................................................................ 103

Setting Up for Probing Extraction Results ....................................................................................... 104

Viewing Nets After Extraction ......................................................................................................... 105

Highlighting Extracted Nets ............................................................................................................. 106

Cross-Probing Hierarchical Parasitic Results................................................................................... 107

Additional Resources for Module 3 ................................................................................................. 108

Lab 3 ................................................................................................................................................. 109

Module 4: Leveraging Design Hierarchy ......................................................... 111

Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 112

What Aspects of Extracted Data Do You Care About? ................................................................... 113

Trade-Offs ........................................................................................................................................ 114

GUI Controls for Hierarchy ............................................................................................................. 115

Flat Extraction .................................................................................................................................. 116

Flat (Transistor-Level) Extraction Illustrated .................................................................................. 117

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction IV

 Table of Contents
Performing a Flat (Transistor Level) Extraction .............................................................................. 119

Ways to Leverage Design Hierarchy ............................................................................................... 120

About Hierarchical Extractions ........................................................................................................ 121

Prerequisites for Hierarchical Extraction ......................................................................................... 122

Gate-Level Extraction ...................................................................................................................... 123

Gate-Level Extraction Illustrated ..................................................................................................... 124

Performing a Gate-Level Extraction ................................................................................................ 126

Full Hierarchical Extraction ............................................................................................................. 127

Full Hierarchical Extraction Illustrated ............................................................................................ 128

Accuracy Loss Due to Full Hierarchical Extraction ........................................................................ 130

Performing a Full Hierarchical Extraction ....................................................................................... 131

About Hcell and Xcell Files ............................................................................................................. 132

Formats for Hcell and Xcell Files .................................................................................................... 133

Wildcards in an Xcell File ................................................................................................................ 134

More About Xcells ........................................................................................................................... 135

Flags Used With Xcell Files............................................................................................................. 136

Hybrid Extraction ............................................................................................................................. 137

Performing a Hybrid Extraction ....................................................................................................... 139

Comparison of Extraction Types ...................................................................................................... 140

Additional Resources for Module 4 ................................................................................................. 141

Lab 4 ................................................................................................................................................. 142

Module 5: Generating Extracted Netlists......................................................... 143

Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 144

Review of Extraction With Calibre xRC.......................................................................................... 145

Controlling Which Netlists Are Extracted ....................................................................................... 146

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction V

 Table of Contents
Controlling Which Nets Are Extracted ............................................................................................ 147

Combining PEX Extract Statements ................................................................................................ 149

About Net Names ............................................................................................................................. 151

Wildcards in Net Names .................................................................................................................. 152

Net Name Scope ............................................................................................................................... 153

Finding Source-Based Net Names ................................................................................................... 154

Tips for Including or Excluding Nets ............................................................................................... 155

Controlling Which Netlists Are Extracted ....................................................................................... 156

How the Extracted Netlist Relates to the PDB ................................................................................. 157

Generating Multiple Netlists From One PDB .................................................................................. 158

Specifying Which Parasitics to Include ........................................................................................... 159

Grounding Coupling Capacitors....................................................................................................... 160

Mixing Net Models In A Single Netlist ........................................................................................... 162

Controlling Which Netlists Are Extracted ....................................................................................... 164

Netlist Creation Through SVRF ....................................................................................................... 165

Specifying Netlist Format ................................................................................................................ 166

Scaling Factors for Extracted Netlists .............................................................................................. 167

Controlling Which Netlists Are Extracted ....................................................................................... 168

Specifying Where Data Comes From............................................................................................... 169

What Names Do You Want to See? ................................................................................................. 170

Which Hierarchy Do You Want To Use? ........................................................................................ 171

Which Intentional Device Parameters Do You Want? ..................................................................... 172

Remember: Choices in Stage 1 Impact Netlist Options ................................................................... 174

Additional Resources for Module 5 ................................................................................................. 175

Lab 5 ................................................................................................................................................. 176

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction VI

 Table of Contents
Module 6: Reduction Techniques ..................................................................... 177
Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 178

Introduction to Reduction................................................................................................................. 179

Reduction Techniques ...................................................................................................................... 180

About Reduction Strategies .............................................................................................................. 181

Reduction Controls in the GUI......................................................................................................... 182

Pre-Configured Reductions .............................................................................................................. 183

Basic Reductions .............................................................................................................................. 184

R ONLY Reduction .......................................................................................................................... 185

Using PEX Reduce ROnly ............................................................................................................... 186

Reducing Based on a Resistance Threshold ..................................................................................... 187

PEX REDUCE MINRES COMBINE 1 ........................................................................................... 188

Enabling MINRES Reduction .......................................................................................................... 189

Delay-Based Reduction .................................................................................................................... 190

Setting the TICER Frequency .......................................................................................................... 191

Enabling TICER Reduction ............................................................................................................. 193

Coupled Capacitance Reduction ...................................................................................................... 194

PEX REDUCE CC ABSOLUTE 0.01 ............................................................................................. 195

PEX REDUCE CC RATIO 0.1 ........................................................................................................ 196

Enabling CC Reduction .................................................................................................................... 197

Reducing Based on a Capacitance Threshold .................................................................................. 198

PEX REDUCE MINCAP COMBINE ............................................................................................. 199

PEX REDUCE MINCAP COMBINE 1 .......................................................................................... 200

PEX REDUCE MINCAP REMOVE ............................................................................................... 201

PEX REDUCE MINCAP REMOVE 1 ............................................................................................ 202

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction VII

 Table of Contents
Enabling MINCAP Reduction ......................................................................................................... 203

Reduction Guidelines ....................................................................................................................... 204

3 Factory Recommended Reduction Strategies................................................................................ 205

Order of Precedence for Reduction .................................................................................................. 206

Via Reduction ................................................................................................................................... 207

What Is Via Reduction? ................................................................................................................... 208

Controlling Via Reduction ............................................................................................................... 210

Reduction With Metal Fill................................................................................................................ 212

Reduction When Metal Fill Is Present ............................................................................................. 213

Treating Floating Nets as GROUNDED .......................................................................................... 214

Treating Floating Nets as REDUCED ............................................................................................. 215

Extracting ALL Floating Nets .......................................................................................................... 216

Controlling Fill Reduction ............................................................................................................... 217

Additional Resources for Module 6 ................................................................................................. 218

Lab 6 ................................................................................................................................................. 219

Module 7: Extraction in Your Design Flow ..................................................... 221

Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 222

Memory ............................................................................................................................................ 223

Memory Designs .............................................................................................................................. 224

Xcell Selection for Memory Designs ............................................................................................... 225

Deciding Which Parasitics to Extract............................................................................................... 226

Proper Treatment of Feedthrough Nets ............................................................................................ 227

Generate Data for IR Drop Analysis ................................................................................................ 228

Strategy for Memory Designs .......................................................................................................... 229

Analog/RF and Mixed Signal ........................................................................................................... 230

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction VIII

 Table of Contents
Analog/RF and Mixed-Signal Designs ............................................................................................ 231

Extraction and Simulation in the Cadence Environment ................................................................. 232

Cellmap Files.................................................................................................................................... 233

Producing a Calibre View ................................................................................................................ 234

Calibre View Setup Dialog Box Settings ......................................................................................... 235

Run Flat Extraction .......................................................................................................................... 236

Accounting for Metal Fill ................................................................................................................. 237

Compensating for Slotting ............................................................................................................... 238

Compensating for In-Die Variation .................................................................................................. 239

Avoiding Double Counting of Device Parasitics ............................................................................. 240

Reduce, Reduce, Reduce .................................................................................................................. 241

Ensuring Proper Pin Assignments .................................................................................................... 242

About the PEX BA Mapfile ............................................................................................................. 243

Strategy for Analog/RF Mixed-Signal Designs ............................................................................... 244

Additional Resources for Module 7 ................................................................................................. 245

Additional Resources for Cadence Integration ................................................................................ 246

Lab 7 ................................................................................................................................................. 247

Module 8: Working With PEX Rule Files ........................................................ 249

Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 250

A Closer Look at PEX Rule Files .................................................................................................... 251

Typical PEX Rule File Use Model ................................................................................................... 252

Encrypted Rule Files ........................................................................................................................ 253

Building Upon Calibrated Rule File................................................................................................. 254

Correcting Layer Name Differences ................................................................................................ 255

Layers in LVS and PEX Rules ......................................................................................................... 256

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction IX

 Table of Contents
Mapping Layers in Encrypted PEX Rules ....................................................................................... 257

Clarifying Device/Interconnect Boundaries ..................................................................................... 259

Background: Parasitic Capacitance Effects ...................................................................................... 260

Intrinsic Capacitance ........................................................................................................................ 261

Coupling Capacitance ...................................................................................................................... 262

Avoiding Double Counting of Capacitance ..................................................................................... 263

Deciding Which Capacitance to Extract .......................................................................................... 264

Isolating Device From Interconnect ................................................................................................. 265

More About PEX Ignore Capacitance .............................................................................................. 266

Modeling In-Die Variation ............................................................................................................... 267

What Is In-Die Variation? ................................................................................................................ 268

Compensating for In-Die Variation .................................................................................................. 269

How Fill Impacts Extraction With In-Die Variation ........................................................................ 270

Defining Target Density ................................................................................................................... 271

Turning Off In-Die Variation Calculations ...................................................................................... 272

Physical Design Flows and In-Die Compensation ........................................................................... 273

Setting Up for Noise Analysis .......................................................................................................... 274

Noise Analysis and Multiple Substrate Regions .............................................................................. 275

Multiple Substrate Regions .............................................................................................................. 276

Defining Multiple Ground Layers .................................................................................................... 277

Using Multiple Ground Layers ........................................................................................................ 278

Setting Up for IR Drop Analysis ...................................................................................................... 279

Getting More Accurate Bulk Pin Voltage ........................................................................................ 280

Bulk Pins Example 1 ........................................................................................................................ 281

Bulk Pins Example 2 ........................................................................................................................ 282

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction X

 Table of Contents
Defining Bulk Pin Layers ................................................................................................................. 283

Setting System Switches .................................................................................................................. 284

System Level Settings in Encrypted Rules ...................................................................................... 285

Profiles ............................................................................................................................................. 286

Rule File Switches ............................................................................................................................ 287

Additional Resources for Module 8 ................................................................................................. 288

Lab 8 ................................................................................................................................................. 289

Appendix A: Netlists ........................................................................................... 291

Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 292

Generated Netlist Files (HSPICE, ELDO, SPECTRE) .................................................................... 293

Generated Netlist Files ..................................................................................................................... 295

Where to Find Parasitic Devices ...................................................................................................... 297

Control Netlist Contents Through the Netlist Statements ................................................................ 298

Questions to Ask About Simulator Requirements ........................................................................... 299

Case Sensitivity and Netlists ............................................................................................................ 300

Controlling Net Names ..................................................................................................................... 301

Controlling the Basic Separator ....................................................................................................... 302

Replacing Characters in Net Names ................................................................................................. 303

Defining the Delimiter for Smashed Devices .................................................................................. 304

Defining the Delimiter for Replicated Devices ................................................................................ 305

Additional Resources for Appendix A ............................................................................................. 306

Appendix B: Advanced Xcell Treatments ......................................................... 307

Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 308

Ideal Extraction ................................................................................................................................ 309

Performing Ideal Extraction ............................................................................................................. 312

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction XI

 Table of Contents
About In-Context Extraction ............................................................................................................ 313

Hierarchical In-Context Extraction .................................................................................................. 314

Performing a Full In-Context Extraction ......................................................................................... 317

Cell In-Context Extraction ............................................................................................................... 318

Performing a Cell In-Context Extraction ......................................................................................... 321

In-Context Extraction Summary ...................................................................................................... 322

Generating the PDB Incrementally .................................................................................................. 323

Running an Incremental Extraction.................................................................................................. 324

Additional Resources for Appendix B ............................................................................................. 325

Calibre xRC Parasitic Extraction XII