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VLSI Design Style

There are two main VLSI design styles: full custom and semi-custom. Full custom designs require an extensive design effort but achieve high quality circuits, while semi-custom uses pre-made modules to reduce design time and effort. Semi-custom designs can be cell-based using library cells or array-based using pre-diffused or field programmable gate arrays. Cell-based designs are further divided into standard cell and macro cell approaches.

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Praneeth Vasantham
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482 views1 page

VLSI Design Style

There are two main VLSI design styles: full custom and semi-custom. Full custom designs require an extensive design effort but achieve high quality circuits, while semi-custom uses pre-made modules to reduce design time and effort. Semi-custom designs can be cell-based using library cells or array-based using pre-diffused or field programmable gate arrays. Cell-based designs are further divided into standard cell and macro cell approaches.

Uploaded by

Praneeth Vasantham
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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VLSI Design Styles VLSI design styles are primarily classified as full custom and semi custom design

styles. In the former case, the functional and physical designs are fully customized, requiring an extensive effort of a design team to optimize each detailed feature of the circuit. In this case, the design effort and cost are high, often compensated by the achievement of high quality circuits. It is obvious that the cost has to be amortized over large volume production (as in the case of processor design) or borne in full (as in case of specialized processor design). In case of semi-custom VLSI design, some part of the design is already being made and put in the library. The designer is required to define the interconnections between those modules. The reduction of the possible number of implementation choices makes it easier to develop CAD tools for design and optimization and also reducing the design time. Semi-custom design may be further classified into two subclasses: cell based design and array based design. Cell based design make use of library cells. Library cells are designed once and stored. Cell based designs are further classified as cell library (standard cell) based design and macro cell based design. In standard cell based designs, cells are designed once but updates are required as progress in semiconductor technology allows for smaller geometries. Every cell needs to be parameterized in terms of area and delay, over ranges of temperatures and operating voltages. Macro cell based design consists of combining building blocks that can be synthesized by computer programs called cell generators. Originally the macro cell generators targeted the automated synthesis of memory arrays and programmable logic arrays. The recent macro cell generators start with the functional description of the circuits and are able to synthesize the layout of those circuits that closely match their optimized full custom counterpart. Array based designs are further classified as pre-diffused and pre-wired, also called mask programmable gate arrays and field programmable gate arrays. MPGA consists of batches of wafers with array of sites being manufactured. The fabrication process entails programming the sites by contacting them to wires, i.e. by contacting them to routing wires. FPGA, in contrast, is programmed on field, i.e. by applying electrical pulses. They consist of arrays of programmable modules capable of implementing logic functions connected by switched wires. Programming is achieved in two ways. Wires, already present in the form of segments can be connected by programming anti-fuses. Alternatively, memory elements inside the array can be programmed to store information that relates to the module configuration and interconnection.

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