Title :
A novel approximation procedure for efficient yield simulation and optimization of integrated circuits
Author :
Zhihua Wang ; Director, Stephen W.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Abstract :
A novel method for the yield simulation of integrated circuits based on an approximation of circuit performance is proposed. By using this method, only one complete circuit simulation is needed for the estimation of yield. To estimate the gradient of yield, only one circuit simulation and a sensitivity analysis at the nominal point are required, so the computational costs are very low. The algorithms have been implemented in a software based on SPICE 3 and NPSOL for yield simulation and optimization. Examples are given to demonstrate the efficiency of the algorithms
Keywords :
SPICE; circuit analysis computing; digital simulation; integrated circuit manufacture; optimisation; semiconductor process modelling; NPSOL; SPICE 3; approximation procedure; circuit performance approximation; computational costs; gradient of yield; integrated circuit optimization; integrated circuit simulation; sensitivity analysis; yield simulation; Circuit optimization; Circuit simulation; Computational efficiency; Computational modeling; Integrated circuit modeling; Integrated circuit yield; SPICE; Sensitivity analysis; Software algorithms; Yield estimation;
Conference_Titel :
Simulation Symposium, 1994., 27th Annual
Conference_Location :
La Jolla, CA
Print_ISBN :
0-8186-5620-4
DOI :
10.1109/SIMSYM.1994.283100
