Cadence Tutorial B: Layout, DRC, Extraction, and LVS

Created for the MSU VLSI program by Professor A. Mason and the AMSaC lab group.
Revised by C Young & Waqar A Qureshi -FS08

Document Contents
Introduction
Create Layout Cellview
Design Rule Checking
Layout Parameter Extraction
Layout vs. Schematic Comparison

Introduction
This document is one of a three-part tutorial for using CADENCE Custom IC Design Tools (ver:
IC445) for a typical bottom-up digital circuit design flow with the AMI06 process technology
and NCSU design kit. This tutorial demonstrates how to complete the physical design (layout),
design rule check (DRC), parameter extraction, and layout vs. schematic (LVS) using the
Cadence tools. These operations are performed step-by-step to complete the design of an
inverter cell, began in Tutorial A, using the design rules for the AMI C5N (λ=0.3) fabrication
process. Techniques and tips for using Cadence layout tools are presented.

It is important that you always have a verified functional schematic before beginning layout. If
the schematic is not correct, the layout will also be incorrect. As shown in the figure below, the
layout should contain the same pin names and the transistors must be made the same size as
those in the schematic. In this tutorial the nMOS and pMOS transistors both use the minimum
size transistor dimensions (W = 1.5um and L = 0.6um) for the AMI C5N process.

Design rule illustrations for the AMI C5N process can be found at:
http://www.mosis.org/Technical/Layermaps/lm-scmos_scn3m.html

Cadence Tutorial B: Layout, DRC, Extraction, and LVS 1

Create Layout Cellview
The custom design process is discussed briefly in Tutorial A. We will assume that you have
logged on and started Cadence Design Tools, and that you already have created a design library
and the schematic of the inverter. Please refer to Tutorial A if you have not done so.

STEP 1: Create a new layout view

• From the Library Manager window, Select File => New => Cellview.
• A dialog box will appear prompting you for the library, cell, and view names. Make sure that
the library name corresponds to your design library that you have used in Tutorial A. Enter
inv as the Cell Name, choose Layout as the Type and Layout GXL. The View Name will be
automatically set to layout.

Two design windows (Virtuoso and LSW) will pop-up. The Layer Selection window (LSW)
(small window on the left in the figure below) lets the user select different layers of the mask
layout. Virtuoso will always use the layer selected in the LSW for editing. The LSW can also
be used to determine which layers will be visible and which layers will be selectable. To select a
layer, simply click on the desired layer within the LSW.

Virtuoso is the main layout editor of Cadence design tools. Commonly used functions can be
accessed by pressing the buttons/icons of the toolbar on the left side of this window. There is an
information line at the bottom of the window which shows (from left to right) the X and Y
coordinates of the cursor, number of selected objects, the distance traveled in the X and Y
directions, the total distance, and the command currently in use. This information can be very
handy while editing. At the bottom of the window, another line shows the function of each
mouse button. Note that the mouse button functions will change according to the command you
are currently executing. The default mouse mode is selection, and as long as you do not choose a
new mode you will remain in that mode. To quit from any mode or command and return to the
default selection mode, the ‘ESC’ key can be used.

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STEP 2: Display Setup
Before drawing on a new cell you should always setup the grid properties.
• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window, select Options => Display (or type ‘e’) to bring up
the Display Options window shown below.
• Type in the following settings: Minor Spacing 0.3, Major Spacing 1.5, X Snap Spacing
0.15, Y Snap Spacing 0.15, then click OK. It is also very important to note that the grid
spacing is in micrometers (um) and not in lambda (λ).

STEP 3: Creating VDD (Power) and GND Rails

Cadence Tutorial B: Layout, DRC, Extraction, and LVS 3

Now we are ready to start laying out our design. The first parts we will create are the power and
ground rails for our inverter. Usually a circuit will consist of a large number of cells, all of
which need power and ground connections. Therefore it is common to design cells with the same
spacing between the power and ground so that they can easily be connected together when the
cells are placed side by side. This vertical spacing is called the cell pitch and it is generally
standardized for all cells in the same library to facilitate combining cells in higher-level circuits.
For this tutorial the power and ground rails will be made 3um (10 lambda) wide using the Metal-
1 layer and the standard cell pitch (height from bottom of the GND rail to top of the VDD rail)
will be 21um (70 lambda).

New for Cadecne 6.1.2:

The VDD and GND rails also serve as the power I/O node pins.

Now draw the Power Rail and the Ground Rail in Metal-1 as power node pins as shown below.
• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window select Create => Pin to open the Create Shape Pin
window. Using this window we will set the global power pins.
• In the Terminal Names field, enter gnd! which is the global name for ground.
• Check Rectangle and Display Terminal Name. In I/O Type select jumper.
• Move your mouse to the cell origin, where the horizontal and vertical guidelines intersect.
Check the information bar at the bottom of the screen to make sure you are at the right
location (0,0). Click on this point.

• Move the mouse up and right to create a rectangle. Use the data in the information bar to
move your mouse to the point that is 4.8um horizontal and 3um vertical from the origin (4.8
x 3 um is always in the X direction by the Y direction, respectively). Click on this point to
create the Metal-1 rectangle which will be your ground rail. (This is similar to selecting
metal1 drw layer from the LSW. In the rest of the tutorial, always use the drw layers for your
layouts unless otherwise specified.)
• Repeat the previous steps to draw the vdd! rail 21um (70 lambda), top to bottom, above the
GND rail. Read the Useful Editing Tools section below.

Cadence Tutorial B: Layout, DRC, Extraction, and LVS 4

 (above) Create shape pin window.

Useful Editing Tools

Ruler: The ruler is very useful to place objects and measure the distance between the objects.
• To start the ruler, click on the ruler icon at the bottom of the toolbar (shortcut key is ‘k’).

Cadence Tutorial B: Layout, DRC, Extraction, and LVS 5

• Click the start and end point in the window; a ruler is created showing the distance between
the two points.
• Hit the ‘ESC’ key to exit the ruler command.
• To remove all ruler markers on your layout, press ‘Shift+k’.

Move: If you place the objects on the wrong place, you can use move function to adjust the
location of the object.
• Select Edit => Move (or click on the move icon on the toolbar), (shortcut key is ‘m’).
• A window will pop-up. The Snap Mode is an interesting option. When this is in orthogonal
setting, the copied objects will move only along one axis. This is a good feature to help you
avoid alignment problems.
• When you have finished the move operation, hit the ‘ESC’ key to exit the move command.

Copy: If you want to create the same object repeatedly, you can use the copy function.
• Select Edit => Copy and the copy dialog box will pop-up (shortcut key is ‘c’).
• Click in an object. Notice that an outline of the object will attach to your mouse cursor.
Move our mouse and click when you are satisfied with the location to place a copy of the
object.

Delete: If you want to delete an object you have drawn:

• Place your mouse over the object and left-click to select it.
• Press the Delete key on the keyboard.

Undo: When you make a mistake (accidentally delete a component, etc.), you can undo the
action by click on the Undo icon in the toolbar (shortcut key is ‘u’).

STEP 4: Draw an nMOS Active Layer

Now we need to add an nMOS transistor to the layout of the CMOS inverter. Normally the
pMOS transistors are at the top near the VDD rail and the nMOS transistors are at the bottom of
the layout near the GND rail. From the schematic we know that the nMOS transistor has a
channel width of 1.5um. The width of the transistor (W) will correspond to the width of the
active area. We want to draw a horizontal transistor so the channel width will be measured top-
to-bottom of the active layer (Y-dimension of the information bar).
• Select nactive layer from the LSW.
• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window select Create => Rectangle
• Draw a rectangle that is 3.6um x 1.5um. Place the left bottom corner of the box at (0.6, 3.9)
and click once. Then move the cursor to (4.2, 5.4) and click again.

STEP 5: The Gate Poly

We will use a vertical polysilicon rectangle to create the gate of the nMOS transistor. Note that
the length of the transistor channel (L) will be determined by the width of this poly rectangle.
• Select poly layer from the LSW.
• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window draw poly rectangle that is 0.6 x 2.7 um over the
center of the nactive as shown in the figure below. Start drawing the poly rectangle 1.5um
from the left side and 0.6um above the top of the active layer.

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STEP 6: Making Active Contacts
Active Contacts provide a connection between the Metal-1 layer and the Active layer, which in
this case is the drain and source regions of the nMOS transistor.
• Select the cc layer from the LSW.
• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window draw a box that is 0.6x 0.6 um within the active area.
Start drawing the contact at 0.3um away from the bottom-left corner of the nactive layer.
• Draw the second contact on the right side of the nactive layer as shown below. As set by the
Design Rules, the contacts must be at least 0.3um from the edge of the active layer. You
might want to use the Copy command (see Useful Editing Tools section above) to simplifiy
this procedure.

STEP 7: Covering Contacts with Metal-1

The Active Contact layer defines where a hole will be formed in the oxide that separates the
active region from the Metal-1 layer. To complete the contact, we must ALWAYS cover the
contact with a Metal-1 layer.
• Select layer Metal-1 from the LSW.
• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window draw a 1.2um square to cover each contact.

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 Note: Metal-1 must extend over the contact in all directions by at least 0.3um (1 lambda).

STEP 8: Create N-Select Layer

Each diffusion (active) area must be specified as being of n-type or p-type. This is accomplished
by a defining the window of n-select (or p-select) around each n-type (or p-type) transistor.
Since we are making an nMOS right now, we will choose the nselect layer.
• Select nselect layer from the LSW.
• Draw a rectangle extending over the active area by 0.6um (2 lambda) in all directions.
This completes the nMOS transistor, which should look like the following figure.

STEP 9: Drawing PMOS

Repeat steps 4-8 to make a pMOS transistor at the top of your cell, just below the VDD power
rail. The only difference between drawing nMOS and pMOS is that you will be using pactive
and pselect layers in place of the n-type layers specified in steps 4-8. Place the pMOS active the
same distance from the VDD rail as your nMOS active was from the GND rail.

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STEP 10: Drawing the N-Well
The selected process, AMI C5N, uses a p-type substrate, where nMOS transistors can be formed,
and requires an n-well, where pMOS transistors can be formed. We must add an n-well to our
cell to form an local n-type substrate (body terminal) for pMOS transistors.
• Select the nwell layer from the LSW.
• Draw a large n-well rectangle around the pactive area. The n-well must extend over the
pMOS active area by a large margin, at least 1.8um (6 lambda). Align the top side of the
nwell to the top of the VDD rail, as shown below.

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STEP 11: Create Substrate/Well Contacts (plugs)
The body terminals of the nMOS and pMOS transistors are the substrate and n-well,
respectively. These terminals must be tied to the proper supply rail, substrate to GND and n-well
to VDD. To simplify this connection, we can place Active Contacts directly on the existing
supply rails. This will require adding active, contact, and select layers on top of the existing
metal-1 layer as shown in the figure below.
• Select the pactive layer from the LSW
• Draw a 1.2um x 1.2um square placed in the center of the GND rail directly beneath the
Active contact on the nMOS transistor. Repeat to add a contact beneath the second nMOS
active contact.
• Select the cc layer from the LSW and place 0.6um x 0.6um contacts inside the pactive
squares.
• Select pselect layer from the LSW and draw a box extending over both pactive squares by
0.6um on each side.
• Repeat this process using complementary layers (nactive, nselect) to add n-type active
contacts to the VDD power rail.
Notice the active contacts on the GND rail are p-type since they connect to the p-type substrate
and they are n-type on the VDD rails since they connect to the n-type n-well. If we were to
switch these layers we would make diodes rather than ohmic (low resistance) contacts.

STEP 12: Connect Transistor Nodes to Match Schematic and Form the Inverter
• Select poly layer from the LSW.
• Draw a rectangle to connect the poly gate inputs of nMOS and pMOS transistors.
Note: To connect polygons of the same layer (eg., poly) you simply need to add another polygon
that makes contact to each of the original layers. If the layers touch or overlap, they will form a
continuous shape for fabrication.
• Select layer Metal-1 from the LSW.
• Draw a rectangle to connect the source of the nMOS to GND rail. In this tutorial, the left side
of the MOS is the source, and the right side is drain.
• Draw a rectangle to connect the source of the pMOS to VDD rail.
• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window select Create => Pin to open the Create Shape Pin
window. Using this window we will set the output pin.
• In the Terminal Names field, enter Y.

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• Check Rectangle and Display Terminal Name. In I/O Type select output.
• Draw a rectangle to connect the drains of the nMOS and pMOS transistors together. This is
the inverter output node.

(above) Create Shape Pin Window.

STEP 13: Add Pin to the Input Node to make Input Available in Metal-1
As a standard practice that will help when connecting multiple cells (logic gates), we need to
ensure that all of our input and output nodes have a connection in Metal-1. For our inverter, the
output is already in Metal-1, but the input (the node that links the gates of both transistors) is
only in poly. We will make a connection to Metal-1 on the input by adding a poly-to-metal
contact.
• Draw a 1.2 x 1.2 um square of poly extended from the existing poly away from the output
metal (see figure below).
• Add a contact (0.6um x 0.6um square in the cc layer) in the center of the new poly square.
• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window select Create => Pin to open the Create Shape Pin
window. Using this window we will the input.
• In the Terminal Names field, enter A.
• Check Rectangle and Display Terminal Name. In I/O Type select input.
• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window, draw a square (about 1.2 x 1.2 um) that overlaps the
poly box. This is automatically done in the Metal-1 layer.

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(left) Connected input and output nodes and (right) Poly-to-Metal contact on the inverter input.

Now we have the final layout of an inverter! See figure below.

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 (above) Final Inverter Layout.

STEP 14: Minimize the Width of the layout

The width of a layout is defined as the distance from the left edge of VDD/GND rail to the right
edge of that same rail. To ease the placement of cells in a row without violating the design rule,
the VDD and GND rails need to extend beyond the outermost poly, active, or metal1 polygon in
the layout by 2λ. nwell and select layers are not subject to this rule. As an example, in the
inverter layout, the furthest features are the active regions transistors.
z In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window select Edit =>Select=> Deselect All. To make sure
that nothing is selected.
z In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window select Edit => Stretch to extend the VDD/GND rail.
z Select the edge (left or right side) of the VDD/GND rail and drag the edge to the proper
place. Make sure they are just 2λ extend over the active layer.
z Note: If you have followed this tutorial exactly, your inverter layout should already be sized
correctly. In future layouts, you will need to carefully follow these guidelines to ensure that
you have met the layout width requirements.

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Useful skill: As layouts get more complex, you may find it useful to view only specific layers
rather than all of them. This will allow you to see exactly what layers are present which can be
difficult when many layers are placed on top of each other. Here’s how this is done.
• From LSW select Edit Æ Set Valid Layers.
• Select the box on the right side of the layer(s) you want view in the layout. For example, to
view only “metal1 pn” select the box on the right side of metal1 pn. Press OK and only the
selected layers will be shown in the Virtuoso Layout Editing window.
• To make all layers visible again, press the AV button on the LSW.

Design Rule Checking

Layout must be drawn according to strict design rules. After you have finished your layout, an
automatic program will check each and every polygon in your design against these design rules
and report violations. This process is called Design Rule Checking (DRC) and MUST be done
for every layout to ensure it will function properly when fabricated.
Note: You are STRONGLY advised not to wait until your layout is completed to check for
design rule violations. In future layouts, run DRC frequently as you add layers to your cell. If
you wait until you are finished to check for errors, it will be much hard to track down and fix all
your errors.
• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window select NCSU => Modify LVS Rules. Make sure the
option “Compare FET parameter” is checked. This will enable the crosschecking of
transistor dimensions between your schematic and layout.

Cadence Tutorial B: Layout, DRC, Extraction, and LVS 14

• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window select Verify => DRC. This will open the DRC
options dialog box. The default options for the DRC are adequate for most situations.
• Click OK to start DRC. DRC results and progress will be displayed in the CIW (Command
Interpreter Window) (the main window when you start Cadence).

(top) DRC dialog window and (bottom) CIW showing DRC results.

Cadence Tutorial B: Layout, DRC, Extraction, and LVS 15

• After the DRC is complete, the bottom line in the CIW will show “# Total errors found”. If
the number is greater than zero, any errors will be highlighted on the layout. Using the
design rules as a guideline, correct all errors and perform another DRC until you get no
errors.
• The DRC will be successful when you see the results saying “0 Total errors found”, as
shown above.
• If you do have errors you can use Verify => Markers => Find to step through and highlight
the errors one by one.

Layout Parameter Extraction

The mask layout contains only physical data. In fact it just contains coordinates of rectangles
drawn in different colors (layers). The extraction process identifies the devices from the layout
and generates a SPICE-like netlist and other files necessary to complete the design process.

Before beginning a layout extraction you must have the cell opened in the layout window and the
layout should have already passed DRC.

• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window select Verify => Extract. A new window (below)
with extraction options will appear.
• Click on Set Switches and select Extract_parasitic_caps. This setting will extract parasitic
elements from the layout. Click on OK. Then click OK on the Extractor Window.

• After extraction check the Command Interpreter Window to make sure there are no errors.
• Following a successful extraction you will see a new cell view called extracted added to the
Library Manager window.

The Extracted Cell View

• Load the extracted cellview from the Library Manager window. This will open up a layout
that looks almost identical to the layout you produced earlier.

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You will notice that only the I/O pins appear as solid blocks and all other shapes appear as
outlines. The red rectangles indicate that there are a number of instances (electrical elements)
within this hierarchy.
• Try pressing ‘Shift+F’ to view the complete hierarchy. A number of symbols are revealed.
If you zoom in, you will be able to identify individual elements such as transistors and
capacitors. You will notice that the parameters (e.g. channel dimensions) of these devices
represent the values as they were drawn in the layout view.
• To disable this view, press ‘Ctrl+F’

Extracted view (left) before and (right) after showing extracted devices.

In addition to the actual transistors you will notice a number of elements (mainly capacitors) in
your extracted cell view. These are not actual devices. They are parasitic capacitances, which
are side effects formed by different layers you used for your layout.

Layout vs. Schematic Comparison

The next step is to compare the netlist extracted from the layout with the schematic to ensure the
layout you have drawn is an identical match to the cell schematic.

• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window select Verify => LVS to open the LVS window.

Cadence Tutorial B: Layout, DRC, Extraction, and LVS 17

 o If you had previously run an LVS check, this would open a small warning box. Make
sure that the option Form Contents is selected in this box and click OK.
• The top half of the LVS options window is split into two parts, schematic and extracted.
Make sure that the entries in the Library, Cell, and View boxes are correct for your circuit.
• Select Run to start the comparison. The comparison algorithm will run in the background,
the result of the LVS run will be displayed in a message box. Be patient, even for a very
small design the LVS run can take some time (minutes).

• When the LVS comparison is complete you will get a pop up window saying “Job . . . has
succeeded”. This does NOT necessarily mean the circuits match, just that the LVS operation
is complete. Click OK to close this window.
• In the LVS window, click on the Output button (just right of the Run button) to display the
LVS result. Scroll through this window and take a look at the LVS result. The most
important part of the report tells if errors were found or if netlists did match (“The netlists
match” as shown below).
• If there are no errors, your layout is complete and correct. If there are errors, you will have
to reload the layout view, fix the problems, and re-run LVS until there are no errors. See the
Guide to Passing LVS document for some tips on correcting LVS errors.

Cadence Tutorial B: Layout, DRC, Extraction, and LVS 18

 Successful LVS where the netlists match.
LVS Options
Some of the other options in the LVS window are for finding mismatches between two netlists
and for generating netlists that include only parasitic effects relevant to one part of the circuit.
Feel free to explore these options to learn more about the Cadence tools.

Series FETs
By default, LVS will allow FETs in series to be matched in any order. This can cause
discrepancies between simulations of schematic and extracted cellviews, particularly in timing
analysis. Therefore, it is generally preferable to modify this feature as follows for any cell that
includes series transistors to ensure an exact match between schematic and layout.
• In the Virtuoso Layout Editing window select NCSU => Modify LVS Rules and uncheck
the “Allow FET Series Permutation” checkbox.

You should confirm this setting before performing LVS on most logic gates that are more
complex than the INV cell, including NAND and NOR gates.

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Although this completes Tutorial B, in a normal design process you would follow a successful
LVS with timing simulations of the extracted cellview. Such simulations provide a very
accurate measurement of how the circuit would perform after fabrication by including the
parasitic elements in the simulations. This procedure will be covered in Tutorial C.

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