US 12,093,625 B2
Integrated circuit design method, system and computer program product
Wan-Yu Lo, Hsinchu (TW); Kuo-Nan Yang, Hsinchu (TW); Chin-Shen Lin, Hsinchu (TW); and Chung-Hsing Wang, Hsinchu (TW)
Assigned to TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed by TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed on Apr. 30, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/245,130.
Application 17/245,130 is a continuation of application No. 16/577,457, filed on Sep. 20, 2019, granted, now 10,997,347, issued on May 4, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/753,667, filed on Oct. 31, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0248297 A1, Aug. 12, 2021
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G06F 30/398 (2020.01); G06F 30/392 (2020.01); G06F 111/10 (2020.01); G06F 111/20 (2020.01); G06F 119/08 (2020.01)
CPC G06F 30/392 (2020.01) [G06F 30/398 (2020.01); G06F 2111/10 (2020.01); G06F 2111/20 (2020.01); G06F 2119/08 (2020.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method, comprising:
performing cell placement to place a plurality of cells into a region of an integrated circuit (IC);
performing a thermal analysis to determine whether the region of the IC is thermally stable during operation of the region of the IC at an operating condition;
in response to a determination from a result of the thermal analysis that the region of the IC is thermally unstable during the operation of the region of the IC at the operating condition, changing a structure of the region of the IC by replacing at least one cell in the region of the IC with another cell having a same function but with lower heating power; and
after the thermal analysis, performing routing to route a plurality of nets interconnecting the placed cells,
wherein
at least one of the cell placement, the thermal analysis, the changing or the routing is executed by a processor, and
the operating condition includes an operating frequency and an operating voltage of the region of the IC,
said method further comprising:
in response to the determination from the result of the thermal analysis that the region of the IC is thermally unstable during the operation of the region of the IC at the operating condition,
lowering at least one of the operating frequency or the operating voltage of the region, to achieve thermal stability in the region during the operation of the region of the IC at at least one of the lowered operating frequency of the region or the lowered operating voltage of the region.