Calibre
Calibre Multi-Patterning
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Course Overview
This course will help you understand the impact of multi-patterning on your designs and how to use Calibre to find and fix layout problems associated with this approach.
Course Details
Starting with the 22nm processing node, the use of multiple masks to print a single layer becomes a requirement because of lithography issues. Foundries have already modified their rule decks to support the use of multi-patterning and will require all 22nm (and smaller) customers to use this technique. There are many implications for chip designers and CAD support teams when multi-patterning is employed. This course will help users understand those implications and show them how to create designs that are compatible with multi-patterning using foundry-provided rule decks and Calibre.
Prerequisites
- Completion of the Calibre nmDRC/nmLVS class or equivalent experience with Calibre nmDRC is required
- Completion of the Calibre DRC/LVS rule-writing course is recommended but not required
- Thorough knowledge of IC layout techniques and procedures
- Experience with an IC layout editing tool
- Familiarity with UNIX
- Good understanding of layout verification concepts and experience with layout verification tools
PRIMARY COURSE TOPICS
What You’ll Learn
- Why multi-patterning is needed
- Various techniques employed to compensate for multi-patterning implications
- How to invoke Calibre to identify and potentially repair multi-patterning layout problems
- How to interpret Calibre output to locate and understand problematic layout geometries
- How to modify layouts to reduce or eliminate multi-patterning problems
- Basic Calibre SVRF coding techniques used to find and fix multi-patterning layout issues
Throughout this course, extensive hands-on lab exercises provide you with practical experience using Calibre multi-patterning software. Hands-on lab topics include:
- Viewing “bad” mask contours
- Running a Calibre double patterning example
- DRC spacing rule implications
- Running the new Calibre DP flow
- Exercising different decomposition flows
- User-defined color choices
- Dealing with hierarchy
- Recommended flows
- Interpreting DP results in RVE
- Using DP with LVS