Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing company, ltd. (20240378366). APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ADVANCED MACRO CLOCK SKEWING simplified abstract

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ADVANCED MACRO CLOCK SKEWING

Organization Name

taiwan semiconductor manufacturing company, ltd.

Inventor(s)

Ming-Chieh Tsai of Hsin-Chu City (TW)

Shao-Yu Wang of Hsin-Chu City (TW)

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ADVANCED MACRO CLOCK SKEWING - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 20240378366 titled 'APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ADVANCED MACRO CLOCK SKEWING

The abstract describes a method and system for generating a clock distribution circuit for each macro circuit in an ASIC design. The method involves receiving the ASIC design specified in a hardware description language, placing each macro circuit in allocated locations on a semiconductor substrate, generating custom clock skew information for each macro circuit based on a clock delay model, creating a clock distribution circuit for each macro circuit based on the custom clock skew information, modifying the circuit if it does not meet timing requirements, and outputting a physical layout of the ASIC design for manufacturing.

• Method for generating clock distribution circuits for macro circuits in an ASIC design
• Receives ASIC design in hardware description language
• Places macro circuits on semiconductor substrate
• Generates custom clock skew information based on clock delay model
• Creates clock distribution circuits for each macro circuit
• Modifies circuits if timing requirements are not met
• Outputs physical layout for manufacturing under semiconductor fabrication process

Potential Applications: - Semiconductor industry - ASIC design and manufacturing - Electronic device production

Problems Solved: - Efficient clock distribution in ASIC designs - Meeting timing requirements for macro circuits - Customizing clock skew information for optimal performance

Benefits: - Improved performance in ASIC designs - Enhanced timing accuracy - Streamlined manufacturing process

Commercial Applications: Clock distribution circuits for ASIC designs can be utilized in various industries such as telecommunications, consumer electronics, and automotive for efficient and reliable operation of electronic devices.

Questions about Clock Distribution Circuits: 1. How does the method optimize clock skew information for each macro circuit?

  The method generates custom clock skew information based on a macro clock delay model to ensure optimal performance.
  

2. What are the potential challenges in modifying the clock distribution circuit to meet timing requirements?

  Modifying the circuit may require additional design iterations and testing to achieve the desired timing specifications.

Original Abstract Submitted

a method and system for generating a clock distribution circuit for each macro circuit in an asic design are disclosed herein. in some embodiments, a method for generating a clock distribution circuit receives the asic design specified in a hardware description language (hdl), places each macro circuit in allocated locations on a semiconductor substrate, generates a custom clock skew information for each macro circuit based on a macro clock delay model, generates a clock distribution circuit for each macro circuit placed on the semiconductor substrate based on the generated custom clock skew information, modifies the clock distribution circuit if the generated clock distribution circuit does not meet timing requirements of the asic design, and outputs a physical layout of the asic design for manufacturing under a semiconductor fabrication process.