1. Introduction to Physical Design SoC Flow
The chapter provides an overview of the physical design flow for System-on-Chip (SoC) design, detailing the critical stages involved from RTL implementation to chip fabrication. Key stages include floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis, routing, physical verification, and final sign-off before tape-out. It highlights the challenges faced in physical design, such as increasing complexity and the need for timing and power optimization.
Sections
Navigate through the learning materials and practice exercises.
What we have learnt
- SoC design integrates various components into a single chip, which necessitates a thorough physical design process.
- The physical design flow consists of several key stages, each crucial for meeting performance, power, area, and reliability specifications.
- Challenges in physical design include managing design complexity, meeting manufacturing constraints, and optimizing timing and power.
Key Concepts
- -- Physical Design
- The process of creating the layout of a chip that includes its logical and physical elements for fabrication.
- -- Floorplanning
- The initial stage in physical design that defines the architecture and placement of functional blocks within a chip.
- -- Placement
- The process of positioning individual cells on the chip to minimize wirelength and meet timing, area, and power requirements.
- -- Clock Tree Synthesis (CTS)
- A crucial step that ensures efficient distribution of the clock signal to all flip-flops with minimal skew.
- -- Routing
- Establishes physical connections between cells and blocks in the design while ensuring signal integrity and timing closure.
- -- Physical Verification
- Involves checking the design against manufacturing rules to ensure it is manufacturable and functional.
- -- TapeOut
- The final process of preparing design data for submission to the fabrication foundry.
Additional Learning Materials
Supplementary resources to enhance your learning experience.