›

LVS for double height standard cell

haru_fharu_f
in KLayout Development

Hi Matthias,

I tested LVS for double height standard cell by using sample data.
I made simple double height BUFX1 cell. --> (BUFX1)
Then I created test layout by adding 2 TIE cell. --> (BUFX1_TEST)

Source schematic "BUFX1_TEST"
.SUBCKT BUFX1_TEST OUT IN VDD VSS
X1 OUT IN VDD VSS VSS VDD BUFX1
.ENDS BUFX1_TEST

.SUBCKT BUFX1 OUT IN VDD VSS SUB NWELL
MP1 VDD IN NET1 NWELL PMOS L=0.25U W=1.5U
MP2 VDD NET1 OUT NWELL PMOS L=0.25U W=1.5U
MN1 VSS IN NET1 SUB NMOS L=0.25U W=0.95U
MN2 VSS NET1 OUT SUB NMOS L=0.25U W=0.95U
.ENDS BUFX1

Extracted net list
Though connect_implicit("VSS") was used, unknown "VSS$1" node was generated in BUFX1.
.SUBCKT BUFX1_TEST IN OUT VSS VDD
X$1 VDD VSS OUT VSS IN VSS VDD BUFX1
.ENDS BUFX1_TEST

.SUBCKT BUFX1 VDD VSS OUT VSS$1 IN SUB NWELL
M$1 VDD IN \$2 NWELL PMOS L=0.25U W=1.5U
M$2 VDD \$2 OUT NWELL PMOS L=0.25U W=1.5U
M$3 VSS IN \$2 SUB NMOS L=0.25U W=0.95U
M$4 VSS$1 \$2 OUT SUB NMOS L=0.25U W=0.95U
.ENDS BUFX1

Expected net list
This net list was only obtained by add metal1 data in BUFX1 cell to connect upper VSS and lower VSS. --> (BUFX1_mod)
.SUBCKT BUFX1_TEST IN OUT VSS VDD
X$1 VDD OUT VSS IN VSS VDD BUFX1
.ENDS BUFX1_TEST

.SUBCKT BUFX1 VDD OUT VSS IN SUB NWELL
M$1 VDD IN \$2 NWELL PMOS L=0.25U W=1.5U
M$2 VDD \$2 OUT NWELL PMOS L=0.25U W=1.5U
M$3 VSS IN \$2 SUB NMOS L=0.25U W=0.95U
M$4 VSS \$2 OUT SUB NMOS L=0.25U W=0.95U
.ENDS BUFX1

Can you confirm this result?

Thanks,
haru_f

Comments

  • MatthiasMatthias

    Hi haru_f,

    thank for you this nicely prepared material :)

    connect_implicit(...) acts on the top level only. This is a safety feature to avoid false matches due to virtual connections where physically they are missing.

    connect_implicit("VSS") worked as you can see: the BUFX1_TEST has one VSS net only.

    But "connect_implicit" does not act on the BUFX1 subcell, so it has two VSS pins. That's physically correct - you could basically connect the lower VSS to a different potential that the upper one. So having two pins is the correct representation.

    I hope this explanation makes sense. As a general rule, the netlist KLayout produces will represent the physical topology of the cell and the same is expected from the corresponding schematic netlist's circuits.

    Kind regards,

    Matthias

  • haru_fharu_f

    Hi Matthias,
    Thank you for the detailed explanation. Yes, I could make sense.
    Actually, flat LVS verification was completed.
    To run hierarchical LVS with double height standard cells,
    is it possible to create new function and keyword "connect_inplicit_in_cell("node", "cellname"), for example ?

    Example
    connect_inplicit_in_cell("VSS", "BUFX1")

    Thanks,
    haru_f

  • MatthiasMatthias

    I think this can be done - I have created a ticket for this: https://github.com/KLayout/klayout/issues/444

    Although I need to say that this breaks with the concept of schematic/layout correspondence which is deeply built into the LVS implementation of KLayout.

    Matthias

  • haru_fharu_f

    Hi Matthias,
    Thank you for adding to the enhancement.
    Thanks,
    haru_f

  • haru_fharu_f

    Hi Matthias,
    I could confirm this enhancement on my example data.
    Thank you very much for your effort.
    Best regards,
    haru_f

Sign In or Register to comment.
Powered by Vanilla