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PostedbyVLSI_Rulesat6:05PM4comments:
Labels:backend,chip,cmos,Companies,design,fabless,
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Monday,November17,2008
CMOSInterviewQuestions
1.Explainwhy&howaMOSFETworks
2.DrawVdsIdscurveforaMOSFET.Now,showhowthiscurve
changes(a)withincreasingVgs(b)withincreasingtransistorwidth
(c)consideringChannelLengthModulation
3.ExplainthevariousMOSFETCapacitances&theirsignificance
4.DrawaCMOSInverter.Explainitstransfercharacteristics
5.Explainsizingoftheinverter
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6.HowdoyousizeNMOSandPMOStransistorstoincreasethe
thresholdvoltage?
7.WhatisNoiseMargin?ExplaintheproceduretodetermineNoise
Margin
8.GivetheexpressionforCMOSswitchingpowerdissipation
9.WhatisBodyEffect?
10.Describethevariouseffectsofscaling
11.GivetheexpressionforcalculatingDelayinCMOScircuit
12.Whathappenstodelayifyouincreaseloadcapacitance?
13.Whathappenstodelayifweincludearesistanceattheoutputof
aCMOScircuit?
14.Whatarethelimitationsinincreasingthepowersupplytoreduce
delay?
15.HowdoesResistanceofthemetallinesvarywithincreasing
thicknessandincreasinglength?
16.Youhavethreeadjacentparallelmetallines.Twooutofphase
signalspassthroughtheoutertwometallines.Drawthewaveforms
inthecentermetallineduetointerference.Now,drawthesignalsif
thesignalsinoutermetallinesareinphasewitheachother
17.Whathappensifweincreasethenumberofcontactsorviafrom
onemetallayertothenext?
18.DrawatransistorleveltwoinputNANDgate.Explainitssizing(a)
consideringVth(b)forequalriseandfalltimes
19.LetA&BbetwoinputsoftheNANDgate.SaysignalAarrivesat
theNANDgatelaterthansignalB.Tooptimizedelay,ofthetwo
seriesNMOSinputsA&B,whichonewouldyouplacenearthe
output?
20.DrawthestickdiagramofaNORgate.Optimizeit
21.ForCMOSlogic,givethevarioustechniquesyouknowtominimize
powerconsumption
22.WhatisChargeSharing?ExplaintheChargeSharingproblem
whilesamplingdatafromaBus
23.Whydowegraduallyincreasethesizeofinvertersinbuffer
design?Whynotgivetheoutputofacircuittoonelargeinverter?
24.Inthedesignofalargeinverter,whydoweprefertoconnect
smalltransistorsinparallel(thusincreasingeffectivewidth)rather
thanlayoutonetransistorwithlargewidth?
25.Givenalayout,drawitstransistorlevelcircuit.(Iwasgivena3
inputANDgateanda2inputMultiplexer.Youcanexpectanysimple
2or3inputgates)
26.GivethelogicexpressionforanAOIgate.Drawitstransistor
levelequivalent.Drawitsstickdiagram
27.WhydontweusejustoneNMOSorPMOStransistorasa
transmissiongate?
28.ForaNMOStransistoractingasapasstransistor,saythegateis
connectedtoVDD,givetheoutputforasquarepulseinputgoing
from0toVDD
29.Drawa6TSRAMCellandexplaintheReadandWriteoperations
30.DrawtheDifferentialSenseAmplifierandexplainitsworking.Any
ideahowtosizethiscircuit?(ConsiderChannelLengthModulation)
31.WhathappensifweuseanInverterinsteadoftheDifferential
SenseAmplifier?
32.DrawtheSRAMWriteCircuitry
33.Approximately,whatwerethesizesofyourtransistorsinthe
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SRAMcell?Howdidyouarriveatthosesizes?
34.HowdoesthesizeofPMOSPullUptransistors(forbit&bit
lines)affectSRAMsperformance?
35.WhatsthecriticalpathinaSRAM?
36.DrawthetimingdiagramforaSRAMRead.Whathappensifwe
delaytheenablingofClocksignal?
37.GiveabigpictureoftheentireSRAMLayoutshowingyour
placementsofSRAMCells,RowDecoders,ColumnDecoders,Read
Circuit,WriteCircuitandBuffers
38.InaSRAMlayout,whichmetallayerswouldyoupreferforWord
LinesandBitLines?Why?
39.HowcanyoumodelaSRAMatRTLLevel?
40.WhatsthedifferencebetweenTesting&Verification?
41.ForanANDORimplementationofatwoinputMux,howdoyou
testforStuckAt0andStuckAt1faultsattheinternalnodes?(You
canexpectacircuitwithsomeredundantlogic)
42.WhatisLatchUp?ExplainLatchUpwithcrosssectionofaCMOS
Inverter.HowdoyouavoidLatchUp?
============================================
===================
1.GivetwowaysofconvertingatwoinputNANDgatetoaninverter
2.Givenacircuit,drawitsexacttimingresponse.(Iwasgivena
PseudoRandomSignalGeneratoryoucanexpectanysequentialckt)
3.Whataresetuptime&holdtimeconstraints?Whatdothey
signify?Whichoneiscriticalforestimatingmaximumclockfrequency
ofacircuit?
4.Giveacircuittodividefrequencyofclockcyclebytwo
5.Designadivideby3sequentialcircuitwith50%dutycircle.(Hint:
DoubletheClock)
6.Supposeyouhaveacombinationalcircuitbetweentworegisters
drivenbyaclock.Whatwillyoudoifthedelayofthecombinational
circuitisgreaterthanyourclocksignal?(Youcantresizethe
combinationalcircuittransistors)
7.Theanswertotheabovequestionisbreakingthecombinational
circuitandpipeliningit.Whatwillbeaffectedifyoudothis?
8.WhatarethedifferentAddercircuitsyoustudied?
9.GivethetruthtableforaHalfAdder.Giveagatelevel
implementationofthesame.
10.DrawaTransmissionGatebasedDLatch.
11.DesignaTransmissionGatebasedXOR.Now,howdoyou
convertittoXNOR?(Withoutinvertingtheoutput)
12.Howdoyoudetectiftwo8bitsignalsaresame?
13.Howdoyoudetectasequenceof"1101"arrivingseriallyfroma
signalline?
14.DesignanyFSMinVHDLorVerilog.
15.ExplainRCcircuitscharginganddischarging.
16.Explaintheworkingofabinarycounter.
17.Describehowyouwouldreverseasinglylinkedlist.
PostedbyVLSI_Rulesat10:43AMNocomments:
Labels:analysis,asic,backend,buffer,chip,clock,cmos,
delay,design,layout,physical,routing,sta,synthesis,timing,
vlsi
FPGAInterviewQuestions
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
1)Whatisminimumandmaximumfrequencyofdcminspartan3
seriesfpga?
Spartanseriesdcmshaveaminimumfrequencyof24MHZanda
maximumof248
2)Tellmesomeofconstraintsyouusedandtheirpurposeduringyour
design?
Therearelotofconstraintsandwillvaryfortooltotool,Iamlisting
someofXilinxconstraints
a)TranslateonandTranslateoff:theVerilogcodebetween
TranslateonandTranslateoffisignoredforsynthesis.
b)CLOCK_SIGNAL:isasynthesisconstraint.Inthecasewherea
clocksignalgoesthroughcombinatoriallogicbeforebeingconnected
totheclockinputofaflipflop,XSTcannotidentifywhatinputpinor
internalnetistherealclocksignal.Thisconstraintallowsyouto
definetheclocknet.
c)XOR_COLLAPSE:issynthesisconstraint.Itcontrolswhether
cascadedXORsshouldbecollapsedintoasingleXOR.
Formoreconstraintsdetaileddescriptionrefertoconstraintguide.
3)Supposeforapieceofcodeequivalentgatecountis600andfor
anothercodeequivalentgatecountis50,000willthesizeofbitmap
change?inotherwordswillsizeofbitmapchangeitgatecount
change?
Thesizeofbitmapisirrespectiveofresourceutilization,itisalways
thesame,forSpartanxc3s5000itis1.56MBandwillneverchange.
4)WhataredifferenttypesofFPGAprogrammingmodes?whatare
youcurrentlyusing?howtochangefromonetoanother?
BeforepoweringontheFPGA,configurationdataisstoredexternally
inaPROMorsomeothernonvolatilemediumeitheronoroffthe
board.Afterapplyingpower,theconfigurationdataiswrittentothe
FPGAusinganyoffivedifferentmodes:MasterParallel,Slave
Parallel,MasterSerial,SlaveSerial,andBoundaryScan(JTAG).The
MasterandSlaveParallelmodes
Modeselectingpinscanbesettoselectthemode,referdatasheet
forfurtherdetails.
5)TellmesomeoffeaturesofFPGAyouarecurrentlyusing?
Iamtakingexampleofxc3s5000toansweringthequestion.
Verylowcost,highperformancelogicsolutionfor
highvolume,consumerorientedapplications
Densitiesashighas74,880logiccells
Upto784I/Opins
622Mb/sdatatransferrateperI/O
18singleendedsignalstandards
6differentialI/OstandardsincludingLVDS,RSDS
TerminationbyDigitallyControlledImpedance
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Signalswingrangingfrom1.14Vto3.45V
DoubleDataRate(DDR)support
Logicresources
Abundantlogiccellswithshiftregistercapability
Widemultiplexers
Fastlookaheadcarrylogic
Dedicated18x18multipliers
Upto1,872KbitsoftotalblockRAM
Upto520KbitsoftotaldistributedRAM
DigitalClockManager(uptofourDCMs)
Clockskewelimination
Eightglobalclocklinesandabundantrouting
6)Whatisgatecountofyourproject?
Wellminewas3.2million,Idontknowyours.!
7)Canyoulistoutsomeofsynthesizableandnonsynthesizable
constructs?
notsynthesizable>>>>
initial
ignoredforsynthesis.
delays
ignoredforsynthesis.
events
notsupported.
real
Realdatatypenotsupported.
time
Timedatatypenotsupported.
forceandrelease
Forceandreleaseofdatatypesnotsupported.
forkjoin
Usenonblockingassignmentstogetsameeffect.
userdefinedprimitives
Onlygatelevelprimitivesaresupported.
synthesizableconstructs>>
assign,forloop,GateLevelPrimitives,repeatwithconstantvalue...
8)Canyouexplainwhatstruckatzeromeans?
ThesestuckatproblemswillappearinASIC.Sometimes,thenodes
willpermanentlytieto1or0becauseofsomefault.Toavoidthat,
weneedtoprovidetestabilityinRTL.Ifitispermanently1itiscalled
stuckat1Ifitispermanently0itiscalledstuckat0.
9)Canyoudrawgeneralstructureoffpga?
10)DifferencebetweenFPGAandCPLD?
FPGA:
a)SRAMbasedtechnology.
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b)Segmentedconnectionbetweenelements.
c)Usuallyusedforcomplexlogiccircuits.
d)Mustbereprogrammedoncethepowerisoff.
e)Costly
CPLD:
a)FlashorEPROMbasedtechnology.
b)Continuousconnectionbetweenelements.
c)Usuallyusedforsimplerormoderatelycomplexlogiccircuits.
d)Neednotbereprogrammedoncethepowerisoff.
e)Cheaper
11)Whataredcm's?whytheyareused?
Digitalclockmanager(DCM)isafullydigitalcontrolsystemthat
usesfeedbacktomaintainclocksignalcharacteristicswitha
highdegreeofprecisiondespitenormalvariationsinoperating
temperatureandvoltage.
ThatisclockoutputofDCMisstableoverwiderangeoftemperature
andvoltage,andalsoskewassociatedwithDCMisminimalandall
phasesofinputclockcanbeobtained.TheoutputofDCMcoming
formglobalbuffercanhandlemoreload.
12)FPGAdesignflow?
13)whatisslice,clb,lut?
Iamtakingexampleofxc3s500toanswerthisquestion
TheConfigurableLogicBlocks(CLBs)constitutethemainlogic
resourceforimplementingsynchronousaswellascombinatorial
circuits.
CLBareconfigurablelogicblocksandcanbeconfiguredto
combo,ramorromdependingoncodingstyle
CLBconsistof4slicesandeachsliceconsistoftwo4inputLUT(look
uptable)FLUTandGLUT.
14)Canaclbconfiguredasram?
YES.
Thememoryassignmentisaclockedbehavioralassignment,Reads
fromthememoryareasynchronous,Andalltheaddresslinesare
sharedbythereadandwritestatements.
15)Whatispurposeofaconstraintfilewhatisitsextension?
TheUCFfileisanASCIIfilespecifyingconstraintsonthelogical
design.Youcreatethisfileandenteryourconstraintsinthefilewith
atexteditor.YoucanalsousetheXilinxConstraintsEditortocreate
constraintswithinaUCF(extention)file.Theseconstraintsaffecthow
thelogicaldesignisimplementedinthetargetdevice.Youcanuse
thefiletooverrideconstraintsspecifiedduringdesignentry.
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16)WhatisFPGAyouarecurrentlyusingandsomeofmainreasons
forchoosingit?
17)DrawaroughdiagramofhowclockisroutedthroughoutFPGA?
18)Howmanyglobalbuffersarethereinyourcurrentfpga,whatis
theirsignificance?
Thereare8oftheminxc3s5000
AnexternalclocksourceenterstheFPGAusingaGlobalClockInput
Buffer(IBUFG),whichdirectlyaccessestheglobalclocknetworkor
anInputBuffer(IBUF).ClocksignalswithintheFPGAdriveaglobal
clocknetusingaGlobalClockMultiplexerBuffer(BUFGMUX).The
globalclocknetconnectsdirectlytotheCLKINinput.
19)Whatisfrequencyofoperationandequivalentgatecountofur
project?
20)Tellmesomeoftimingconstraintsyouhaveused?
21)Whyismaptimingoptionused?
Timingdrivenpackingandplacementisrecommendedtoimprove
designperformance,timing,andpackingforhighlyutilizeddesigns.
22)Whataredifferenttypesoftimingverifications?
Dynamictiming:
a.Thedesignissimulatedinfulltimingmode.
b.Notallpossibilitiestestedasitisdependentontheinputtest
vectors.
c.Simulationsinfulltimingmodeareslowandrequirealotof
memory.
d.Bestmethodtocheckasynchronousinterfacesorinterfaces
betweendifferenttimingdomains.
Statictiming:
a.Thedelaysoverallpathsareaddedup.
b.Allpossibilities,includingfalsepaths,verifiedwithouttheneedfor
testvectors.
c.Muchfasterthansimulations,hoursasopposedtodays.
d.Notgoodwithasynchronousinterfacesorinterfacesbetween
differenttimingdomains.
23)ComparePLL&DLL?
PLL:
PLLshavedisadvantagesthatmaketheiruseinhighspeeddesigns
problematic,particularlywhenbothhighperformanceandhigh
reliabilityarerequired.
ThePLLvoltagecontrolledoscillator(VCO)isthegreatestsourceof
problems.Variationsintemperature,supplyvoltage,and
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manufacturingprocessaffectthestabilityandoperatingperformance
ofPLLs.
DLLs,however,areimmunetotheseproblems.ADLLinitssimplest
forminsertsavariabledelaylinebetweentheexternalclockandthe
internalclock.Theclocktreedistributestheclocktoallregistersand
thenbacktothefeedbackpinoftheDLL.
ThecontrolcircuitoftheDLLadjuststhedelayssothattherising
edgesofthefeedbackclockalignwiththeinputclock.Oncetheedges
oftheclocksarealigned,theDLLislocked,andboththeinputbuffer
delayandtheclockskewarereducedtozero.
Advantages:
precision
stability
powermanagement
noisesensitivity
jitterperformance.
24)GiventwoASICs.onehassetupviolationandtheotherhashold
violation.howcantheybemadetoworktogetherwithoutmodifying
thedesign?
Slowtheclockdownontheonewithsetupviolations..
Andaddredundantlogicinthepathwhereyouhaveholdviolations.
25)Suggestsomewaystoincreaseclockfrequency?
Checkcriticalpathandoptimizeit.
Addmoretimingconstraints(overconstrain).
pipelinethearchitecturetothemaxpossibleextentkeepinginmind
latencyreq's.
26)WhatisthepurposeofDRC?
DRCisusedtocheckwhethertheparticularschematicand
correspondinglayout(especiallythemasksetsinvolved)catertoa
predefinedrulesetdependingonthetechnologyusedtodesign.
Theyareparameterssetasidebytheconcernedsemiconductor
manufacturerwithrespecttohowthemasksshouldbeplaced,
connected,routedkeepinginmindthatvariationsinthefabprocess
doesnoteffectnormalfunctionality.Itusuallydenotestheminimum
allowableconfiguration.
27)WhatisLVsandwhydowedothat.Whatisthedifference
betweenLVSandDRC?
Thelayoutmustbedrawnaccordingtocertainstrictdesignrules.
DRChelpsinlayoutofthedesignsbycheckingifthelayoutisabide
bythoserules.
Afterthelayoutiscompleteweextractthenetlist.LVScomparesthe
netlistextractedfromthelayoutwiththeschematictoensurethatthe
layoutisanidenticalmatchtothecellschematic.
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28)WhatisDFT?
DFTmeansdesignfortestability.'DesignforTestorTestability'a
methodologythatensuresadesignworksproperlyafter
manufacturing,whichlaterfacilitatesthefailureanalysisandfalse
product/piecedetection
Otherthanthefunctionallogic,youneedtoaddsomeDFTlogicin
yourdesign.Thiswillhelpyouintestingthechipformanufacturing
defectsafteritcomefromfab.Scan,MBIST,LBIST,IDDQtestingetc
areallpartofthis.(thisisahotfieldandwithlotsofopportunities)
29)TherearetwomajorFPGAcompanies:XilinxandAltera.Xilinx
tendstopromoteitshardprocessorcoresandAlteratendsto
promoteitssoftprocessorcores.Whatisthedifferencebetweena
hardprocessorcoreandasoftprocessorcore?
Ahardprocessorcoreisapredesignedblockthatisembeddedonto
thedevice.IntheXilinxVirtexIIPro,someofthelogicblockshave
beenremoved,andthespacethatwasusedfortheselogicblocksis
usedtoimplementaprocessor.TheAlteraNios,ontheotherhand,
isadesignthatcanbecompiledtothenormalFPGAlogic.
30)Whatisthesignificanceofcontaminationdelayinsequential
circuittiming?
31)WhenareDFTandFormalverificationused?
DFT:
manufacturingdefectslikestuckat"0"or"1".
testforsetofrulesfollowedduringtheinitialdesignstage.
Formalverification:
Verificationoftheoperationofthedesign,i.e,toseeifthedesign
followsspec.
gatenetlist==RTL?
usingmathematicsandstatisticalanalysistocheckforequivalence.
32)WhatisSynthesis?
Synthesisisthestageinthedesignflowwhichisconcernedwith
translatingyourVerilogcodeintogatesandthat'sputtingitvery
simply!Firstofall,theVerilogmustbewritteninaparticularwayfor
thesynthesistoolthatyouareusing.Ofcourse,asynthesistool
doesn'tactuallyproducegatesitwilloutputanetlistofthedesign
thatyouhavesynthesisedthatrepresentsthechipwhichcanbe
fabricatedthroughanASICorFPGAvendor.
33)Weneedtosampleaninputoroutputsomethingatdifferent
rates,butIneedtovarytherate?What'sacleanwaytodothis?
Many,manyproblemshavethissortofvariableraterequirement,yet
weareusuallyconstrainedwithaconstantclockfrequency.Onetrick
istoimplementadigitalNCO(NumericallyControlledOscillator).An
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NCOisactuallyverysimpleand,whileitismostnaturallyunderstood
ashardware,italsocanbeconstructedinsoftware.TheNCO,quite
simply,isanaccumulatorwhereyoukeepaddingafixedvalueon
everyclock(e.g.ataconstantclockfrequency).WhentheNCO
"wraps",yousampleyourinputordoyouraction.Byadjustingthe
valueaddedtotheaccumulatoreachclock,youfinelytunethe
AVERAGEfrequencyofthatwrapevent.Nowyoumayhaverealized
thatthewrappingeventmayhavelotsofjitteronit.True,butyou
mayusethewraptoincrementyetanothercounterwhereeach
additionalDivideby2bitreducesthisjitter.TheDDSisarelated
technique.IhavetwoexamplesshowingbothanNCOsandaDDSin
myFileArchive.Thisistrickytograspatfirst,buttremendously
powerfulonceyouhaveitinyourbagoftricks.NCOsalsorelateto
digitalPLLs,TimingRecovery,TDMAandother"variablerate"
phenomena.
PostedbyVLSI_Rulesat10:42AM2comments:
Labels:asic,chip,cmos,combinational,design,digital,fifo,
flip,flop,fpga,fsm,interview,latch,questions,RTL,
sequential,synchronous,verilog,vhdl,vlsi
VHDLInterviewQuestions
Whatisthedifferencebetweenusingdirectinstntiationsand
componentonesexceptthatyouneedtodeclarethecomponent?
WhatistheuseofBLOCKS?
WhatistheuseofPROCEDURES?
Whatistheusageofusingmorethenonearchitectureinanentity?
WhatisaDlatch?WritetheVHDLCodeforit?
ImplementDflipflopwithacoupleoflatches?WriteaVHDLCode
foraDflipflop?
DifferencesbetweenSignalsandVariablesinVHDL?Ifthesame
codeiswrittenusingSignalsandVariableswhatdoesitsynthesize
to?
DifferencesbetweenfunctionsandProceduresinVHDL?
ExplaintheconceptofaClockDividerCircuit?WriteaVHDLcodefor
thesame?
WhatyouwoulduseinRTLa'boolean'typeora'std_logic'typeand
why.
Whatare/maybetheimplicationsofusingan'integer'typeinRTL.
Atimingpathfails:whatareyouroptions?
WhatareVHDLstructures,giveanexampletoexploitthem
Whatisgreycoding,anyexamplewheretheyareused
http://vlsichip.blogspot.in/ 14/50
28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
DiscussAsyncinterfaces
Metastability
Synopsysunwantedlatch
Verilogblockingvsnonblocking
VHDLvariables:examplewhereyouhavetousethem
Whatispipeliningandhowitmayimprovetheperformance
Whataremulticyclepaths.
Whatarefalsepaths
WhatareAsynccounters,whatareadvantagesofusingtheseover
synccounters.andwhatarethedisadvantages
SensitivityList:
Howdoesitmatter.Whatwillhappen
ifyoudontincludeasignalinthesensitivitylist
anduse/readitinsidetheprocess
HowyouwillimplementaClanguagepointerinVHDL
WhatisDesignForTestandwhyitisdone.
Whatisclockgating?Howandwhyitisdone.
LowPower:discusshowitmaybedone
Discussdisadvantages/challengesofshrinkingtechnology
Whatispipelining,howmayitaffecttheperformanceofadesign
Whatisthedifferencebetweentransportdelaysandinertialdelaysin
VHDL
Whatdeterminesthemaxfrequencyadigitaldesignmayworkon
Whythold(holdtime)isnotincludedinthecalculationfortheabove.
Whatwillhappenifoutputofaninverterisshortedtoitsinput
Whatisnoisemargin.
WhyarepmoslargerthannmosinCMOSdesign.
DrawDCcurveofinverterandReDrawitifpmosandnmosare
equal.
WhatisLatchup
HowcananInverterworkasanamplifier
Designastatemachinewhichdividestheinputfrequencyofaclock
by3.
Whydoesapassgaterequirestwotransistors(1Nand1Ptype)Can
weusea
singletransistorNorPtypeinapassgate?Ifnotwhy?andifyes
theninwhatconditions?
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
WhyCMOSwhynotNMOSorPMOSlogic,whenweknowthatthe
number
ofgatesrequiredinCMOSaregraterthaninnmosorpmoslogic.
HowmuchisthemaxfanoutofatypicalCMOSgate.Oralternatively,
discussthelimitingfactors.
Whataredynamiclogicgates?Whataretheiradvantagesover
conventionallogicgates
Designadigitalcircuittodelaythenegativeedgeoftheinputsignal
by2clockcycles
Whatistherelationbetweenbinaryencodingandgrey(orgray)
encoding.
Writeavhdlfunctiontoimplementalengthindependentgreycode
counter.
alternatively,discussthelogictodothat.
Howyouwillconstraintacombinationallogicpaththroughyour
design
indc_shell.
MakeaTFlipFlopusingaDFlipFlop
HowyouwillmakeaNandGatefunctionlikeaninverter.
Designastatemachinetodetecta'1101'patterninastream.
Detectboth,overlappingandnonoverlappingpatterns.
WhatareMISRs,exampleusage?
PostedbyVLSI_Rulesat10:41AMNocomments:
Labels:asic,chip,cmos,combinational,design,digital,fifo,
flip,flop,fsm,interview,latch,questions,RTL,sequential,
skew,synchronous,verilog,vhdl,vlsi
VerilogInterviewQuestions
1.WhatisthedifferencebetweenBehaviormodelingandRTL
modeling?
2.WhatisthebenefitofusingBehaviormodelingstyleoverRTL
modeling?
3.Whatisthedifferencebetweenblockingassignmentsandnon
blockingassignments?
4.HowdoyouimplementthebidirectionalportsinVerilogHDL
5.HowtomodelinertialandtransportdelayusingVerilog?
6.Howtosynchronizecontrolsignalsanddatabetweentwodifferent
clockdomains?
7.Create4bitmultiplierusingaROMandwhatwillbethesizeofthe
ROM.Howcanyourealizeitwhentheoutputsarespecified.
8.Howcanyouswap2integersaandb,withoutusinga3rdvariable
9.Whichoneispreferred?1'scomplementor2'scomplementand
why?
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
10.WhichoneispreferredinFSMdesign?MealyorMoore?Why?
11.Whichoneispreferredindesignentry?RTLcodingorSchematic?
Why?
12.Designa2inputORgateusinga2:1mux.
13.Designa2inputANDgateusinga2inputXORgate.
14.Designahardwaretoimplementfollowingequationswithout
usingmultipliersordividers.
a.out=7x+8y
b.out=.78x+.17y
15.DesignGraycountertocount6.
16.DesignXORgateusingjustNANDgates.
17.Create"AND"gateusinga2:1multiplexer.(Createallother
gatestoo.)
18.Howareblockingandnonblockingstatementsexecuted?
19.Howdoyoumodelasynchronousandasynchronousresetin
Verilog?
20.Whathappensifthereisconnectingwireswidthmismatch?
21.Whataredifferentoptionsthatcanbeusedwith$display
statementinVerilog?
22.GivetheprecedenceorderoftheoperatorsinVerilog.
23.Shouldweincludealltheinputsofacombinationalcircuitinthe
sensitivitylist?Givereason.
24.Give10commonlyusedVerilogkeywords.
25.IsitpossibletooptimizeaVerilogcodesuchthatwecanachieve
lowpowerdesign?
26.Whichisupdatedfirst:signalorvariable?
PostedbyVLSI_Rulesat10:40AMNocomments:
Labels:asic,chip,cmos,combinational,design,digital,fifo,
flip,flop,fsm,interview,latch,questions,RTL,sequential,
skew,synchronous,verilog,vhdl,vlsi
BasicDigitalInterviewQuestions
WhatisthefunctionofaDflipflop,whoseinvertedoutputis
connectedtoitsinput?
Designacircuittodivideinputfrequencyby2.
Designadivideby3sequentialcircuitwith50%dutycycle.
Designadivideby5sequentialcircuitwith50%dutycycle.
Whatarethedifferenttypesofadderimplementations?
DrawaTransmissionGatebasedDLatch.
GivethetruthtableforaHalfAdder.Giveagatelevel
implementationofit.
http://vlsichip.blogspot.in/ 17/50
28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
DesignanXORgatefrom2:1MUXandaNOTgate
WhatisthedifferencebetweenaLATCHandaFLIPFLOP?
*Latchisalevelsensitivedevicewhileflipflopisanedgesensitive
device.
*Latchissensitivetoglitchesonenablepin,whereasflipflopis
immunetoglitches.
*Latchestakelessgates(alsolesspower)toimplementthanflip
flops.
*Latchesarefasterthanflipflops.
DesignaDFlipFlopfromtwolatches.
Designa2bitcounterusingDFlipFlop.
Whatarethetwotypesofdelaysinanydigitalsystem?
DesignaTransparentLatchusinga2:1Mux.
Designa4:1Muxusing2:1Muxesandsomecombologic.
Whatismetastablestate?Howdoesitoccur?
Whatismetastability?
Designa3:8decoder
DesignaFSMtodetectsequence"101"ininputsequence.
ConvertNANDgateintoInverter,intwodifferentways.
DesignaDandTflipflopusing2:1muxuseofothercomponents
notallowed,justthemux.
DesignadividebytwocounterusingDLatch.
DesignDLatchfromSRflipflop.
DefineClockSkew,NegativeClockSkew,PositiveClockSkew.
WhatisRaceCondition?
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
Designa4bitGrayCounter.
Design4bitSynchronouscounter,Asynchronouscounter.
Designa16byteAsynchronousFIFO.
WhatisthedifferencebetweenanEEPROMandaFLASH?
WhatisthedifferencebetweenaNANDbasedFlashandaNOR
basedFlash?
Youaregivena100MHzclock.Designa33.3MHzclockwithand
without50&37dutycycle.
DesignaReadonResetSystem?
Whichoneissuperior:AsynchronousResetorSynchronousReset?
Explain.
DesignaStatemachineforTrafficControlataFourpointJunction.
WhatareFIFO's?CanyoudrawtheblockdiagramofFIFO?Could
youmodifyittomakeitasynchronousFIFO?
Howcanyougeneraterandomsequencesindigitalcircuits?
PostedbyVLSI_Rulesat10:39AM1comment:
Labels:asic,chip,cmos,combinational,design,digital,fifo,
flip,flop,fsm,interview,latch,questions,RTL,sequential,
skew,synchronous,verilog,vhdl,vlsi
PhysicalDesignInterviewQuestions
CompanywiseASIC/VLSIInterviewQuestions
BelowquestionsareaskedforseniorpositioninPhysicalDesign
domain.ThequestionsarealsorelatedtoStaticTimingAnalysisand
Synthesis.Answerstosomequestionsaregivenaslink.Remaining
questionswillbeansweredincomingblogs.
Commonintroductoryquestionseveryinterviewerasksare:
*Discussabouttheprojectsworkedinthepreviouscompany.
http://vlsichip.blogspot.in/ 19/50
28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
*Whatarephysicaldesignflows,variousactivitiesyouareinvolved?
*Designcomplexity,capacity,frequency,processtechnologies,block
sizeyouhandled.
Intel
*Whypowerstripesroutedinthetopmetallayers?
TheresistivityoftopmetallayersarelessandhencelessIRdropis
seeninpowerdistributionnetwork.Ifpowerstripesareroutedin
lowermetallayersthiswillusegoodamountoflowerrouting
resourcesandthereforeitcancreateroutingcongestion.
*WhydoyouusealternateroutingapproachHVH/VHV(Horizontal
VerticalHorizontal/VerticalHorizontalVertical)?
Answer:
Thisapproachallowsroutabilityofthedesignandbetterusageof
routingresources.
*Whatareseveralfactorstoimprovepropagationdelayofstandard
cell?
Answer:
Improvetheinputtransitiontothecellunderconsiderationbyup
sizingthedriver.
Reducetheloadseenbythecellunderconsideration,eitherby
placementrefinementorbuffering.
IfallowedincreasethedrivestrengthorreplacewithLVT(low
thresholdvoltage)cell.
*Howdoyoucomputenetdelay(interconnectdelay)/decodeRC
valuespresentintechfile?
*Whatarevariouswaysoftimingoptimizationinsynthesistools?
Answer:
Logicoptimization:buffersizing,cellsizing,leveladjustment,dummy
bufferingetc.
LessnumberoflogicsbetweenFlipFlopsspeedupthedesign.
Optimizedrivestrengthofthecell,soitiscapableofdrivingmore
loadandhencereducingthecelldelay.
Betterselectionofdesignwarecomponent(selecttimingoptimized
designwarecomponents).
UseLVT(Lowthresholdvoltage)andSVT(standardthreshold
voltage)cellsifallowed.
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
*Whatwouldyoudoinordertonotusecertaincellsfromthe
library?
Answer:
Setdontuseattributeonthoselibrarycells.
*HowdelaysarecharacterizedusingWLM(WireLoadModel)?
Answer:
Foragivenwireloadmodelthedelayareestimatedbasedonthe
numberoffanoutofthecelldrivingthenet.
FanoutvsnetlengthistabulatedinWLMs.
ValuesofunitresistanceRandunitcapacitanceCaregivenin
technologyfile.
Netlengthvariesbasedonthefanoutnumber.
OncethenetlengthisknowndelaycanbecalculatedSometimesitis
againtabulated.
*Whatarevarioustechniquestoresolvecongestion/noise?
Answer:
Routingandplacementcongestionalldependupontheconnectivityin
thenetlist,abetterfloorplancanreducethecongestion.
Noisecanbereducedbyoptimizingtheoverlapofnetsinthedesign.
*Letssaythereenoughroutingresourcesavailable,timingisfine,
canyouincreaseclockbuffersinclocknetwork?Ifsowilltherebe
anyimpactonotherparameters?
Answer:
No.Youshouldnotincreaseclockbuffersintheclocknetwork.
Increaseinclockbufferscausemorearea,morepower.When
everythingisfinewhyyouwanttotouchclocktree??
*Howdoyouoptimizeskew/insertiondelaysinCTS(ClockTree
Synthesis)?
Answer:
Betterskewtargetsandinsertiondelayvaluesprovidedwhilebuilding
theclocks.
Chooseappropriatetreestructureeitherbasedonclockbuffersor
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
clockinvertersormixofclockbuffersorclockinverters.
Formulticlockdomain,grouptheclockswhilebuildingtheclocktree
sothatskewisbalancedacrosstheclocks.(Interclockskew
analysis).
*Whatarepros/consoflatch/FF(FlipFlop)?
*Howyougoaboutfixingtimingviolationsforlatchlatchpaths?
*Asanengineer,letssayyourmanagercomestoyouandasksfor
nextprojectdiesizeestimation/projection,givingdataonRTLsize,
performancerequirements.Howdoyougoaboutthefiguringoutand
comeupwithdiesizeconsideringphysicalaspects?
*Howwillyoudesigninsertingvoltageislandschemebetween
macropinscrossingcoreandareatdifferentpowerwells?Whatis
theoptimalresourcesolution?
*Whatarevariousformalverificationissuesyoufacedandhowdid
youresolve?
*Howdoyoucalculatemaximumfrequencygivensetup,hold,clock
andclockskew?
*Whatareeffectsofmetastability?
*Consideratimingpathcrossingfromfastclockdomaintoslow
clockdomain.Howdoyoudesignsynchronizercircuitwithout
knowingthesourceclockfrequency?
*Howtosolvecrossclocktimingpath?
*HowtodeterminethedepthofFIFO/sizeoftheFIFO?
STmicroelectronics
*Whatarethechallengesyoufacedinplaceandroute,FV(Formal
Verification),ECO(EngineeringChangeOrder)areas?
*Howlongthedesigncycleforyourdesigns?
*Whatpartareyourareasofinterestinphysicaldesign?
*ExplainECO(EngineeringChangeOrder)methodology.
*ExplainCTS(ClockTreeSynthesis)flow.
*Whatkindofroutingissuesyoufaced?
*HowdoesSTA(StaticTimingAnalysis)inOCV(OnChipVariation)
conditionsdone?HowdoyousetOCV(OnChipVariation)inIC
compiler?Howistimingcorrelationdonebeforeandafterplaceand
route?
*Iftherearetoomanypinsofthelogiccellsinoneplacewithin
core,whatkindofissueswouldyoufaceandhowwillyouresolve?
*Definehash/@arrayinperl.
*UsingTCL(ToolCommandLanguage,Tickle)howdoyouset
variables?
http://vlsichip.blogspot.in/ 22/50
28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
*WhatisICC(ICCompiler)commandforsettingderatefactor/
commandtoperformphysicalsynthesis?
*Whatarenanorouteoptionsforsearchandrepair?
*Whatwereyourdesignskew/insertiondelaytargets?
*HowisIRdropanalysisdone?Whatarevariousstatisticsavailable
inreports?
*Explainpindensity/celldensityissues,hotspots?
*Howwillyourelateroutinggridwithmanufacturinggridandjudge
iftheroutinggridissetcorrectly?
*Whatisthecommandforsettingmulticyclepath?
*Ifholdviolationexistsindesign,isitOKtosignoffdesign?Ifnot,
why?
TexasInstruments(TI)
*Howaretimingconstraintsdeveloped?
*Explaintimingclosureflow/methodology/issues/fixes.
*ExplainSDF(StandardDelayFormat)backannotation/SPEF
(StandardParasiticExchangeFormat)timingcorrelationflow.
*Givenatimingpathinmultimodemulticorner,howisSTA(Static
TimingAnalysis)performedinordertomeettiminginbothmodes
andcorners,howarePVT(ProcessVoltageTemperature)/derate
factorsdecidedandsetinthePrimetimeflow?
*Withrespecttoclockgate,whatarevariousissuesyoufacedat
variousstagesinthephysicaldesignflow?
*Whataresynthesisstrategiestooptimizetiming?
*ExplainECO(EngineeringChangeOrder)implementationflow.
Givenpostrouteddatabaseandfunctionalfixes,howwillyoutakeit
toimplementECO(EngineeringChangeOrder)andwhatphysicaland
functionalchecksyouneedtoperform?
Qualcomm
*Inbuildingthetimingconstraints,doyouneedtoconstrainallIO
(InputOutput)ports?
*Canasingleporthavemulticlocked?Howdoyousetdelaysfor
suchports?
*HowisscanDEF(DesignExchangeFormat)generated?
*Whatispurposeoflockuplatchinscanchain?
*Explainshortcircuitcurrent.
*Whatarepros/consofusinglowVt,highVtcells?
*Howdoyousetinterclockuncertainty?
Answer:
set_clock_uncertaintyfromclock1toclock2
*InDC(DesignCompiler),howdoyouconstrainclocks,IO(Input
Output)ports,maxcap,maxtran?
*WhataredifferencesinclockconstraintsfrompreCTS(ClockTree
http://vlsichip.blogspot.in/ 23/50
28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
Synthesis)topostCTS(ClockTreeSynthesis)?
Answer:
DifferenceinclockuncertaintyvaluesClocksarepropagatedinpost
CTS.
InpostCTSclocklatencyconstraintismodifiedtomodelclockjitter.
*Howisclockgatingdone?
*WhatconstraintsyouaddinCTS(ClockTreeSynthesis)forclock
gates?
Answer:
Maketheclockgatingcellsasthroughpins.
*Whatistradeoffbetweendynamicpower(current)andleakage
power(current)?
Answer:
*Howdoyoureducestandby(leakage)power?
*Explaintoplevelpinplacementflow?Whatareparametersto
decide?
*Givenblocklevelnetlists,timingconstraints,libraries,macroLEFs
(LayoutExchangeFormat/LibraryExchangeFormat),howwillyou
startfloorplanning?
*Withnetlengthof1000umhowwillyoucomputeRCvalues,using
equations/techfileinfo?
*Whatdonoisereportsrepresent?
*Whatdoesglitchreportscontain?
*WhatareCTS(ClockTreeSynthesis)stepsinICcompiler?
*Whatdoclockconstraintsfilecontain?
*Howtoanalyzeclocktreereports?
*WhatdoIRdropVoltagestormreportsrepresent?
*Where/whendoyouuseDCAP(DecouplingCapacitor)cells?
*Whatarevariouspowerreductiontechniques?
HughesNetworks
*Whatissetup/hold?Whataresetupandholdtimeimpactson
timing?Howwillyoufixsetupandholdviolations?
*ExplainfunctionofMuxedFF(MultiplexedFlipFlop)/scanFF(Scal
FlipFlop).
*WhataretestedinDFT(DesignforTestability)?
*Inequivalencechecking,howdoyouhandlescanensignal?
*IntermsofCMOS(ComplimentaryMetalOxideSemiconductor),
explainphysicalparametersthataffectthepropagationdelay?
*Whatarepowerdissipationcomponents?Howdoyoureduce
them?
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
*HowdelayaffectedbyPVT(ProcessVoltageTemperature)?
*Whyispowersignalroutedintopmetallayers?
AvagoTechnologies(formerHPgroup)
*Howdoyouminimizeclockskew/balanceclocktree?
*Given11mintermsandaskedtoderivethelogicfunction.
*GivenC1=10pf,C2=1pfconnectedinserieswithaswitchin
between,att=0switchisopenandoneendhaving5vandotherend
zerovoltagecomputethevoltageacrossC2whentheswitchis
closed?
*ExplainthemodesofoperationofCMOS(ComplimentaryMetal
OxideSemiconductor)inverter?ShowIO(InputOutput)
characteristicscurve.
*Implementaringoscillator.
*Howtoslowdownringoscillator?
HynixSemiconductor
*Howdoyouoptimizepoweratvariousstagesinthephysicaldesign
flow?
*Whattimingoptimizationstrategiesyouemployinprelayout/post
layoutstages?
*Whatareprocesstechnologychallengesinphysicaldesign?
*Designdivideby2,divideby3,anddivideby1.5counters.Draw
timingdiagrams.
*Whataremulticyclepaths,falsepaths?Howtoresolvemulticycle
andfalsepaths?
*Givenafloptofloppathwithcombodelayinbetweenandoutputof
thesecondflopfedbacktocombologic.Whichpathisfastestpathto
haveholdviolationandhowwillyouresolve?
*WhatareRTL(RegisterTransferLevel)codingstylestoadaptto
yieldoptimalbackenddesign?
*Drawtimingdiagramstorepresentthepropagationdelay,setup,
hold,recovery,removal,minimumpulsewidth.
AboutContributor
ASIC_diehardhasmorethan5yearsofexperienceinphysicaldesign,
timing,netlisttoGDSflowsofIntegratedCircuitdevelopment.
ASIC_diehard'sfieldsofinterestarebackenddesign,placeandroute,
timingclosure,processtechnologies.
Readersareencouragedtodiscussanswerstothesequestions.Just
clickonthe'postacomment'optionbelowandputyourcomments
there.Alternativelyyoucansendyouranswers/discussionstomy
mailid:shavakmm@gmail.com
PhysicalDesignObjectiveTypeofQuestionsandAnswers
http://vlsichip.blogspot.in/ 25/50
28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
*1)Chiputilizationdependson___.
a.Onlyonstandardcells
b.Standardcellsandmacros
c.Onlyonmacros
d.StandardcellsmacrosandIOpads
*2)InSoftblockages____cellsareplaced.
a.Onlysequentialcells
b.Nocells
c.OnlyBuffersandInverters
d.Anycells
*3)Whywehavetoremovescanchainsbeforeplacement?
a.Becausescanchainsaregroupofflipflop
b.Itdoesnothavetimingcriticalpath
c.ItisseriesofflipflopconnectedinFIFO
d.None
*4)Delaybetweenshortestpathandlongestpathintheclockis
called____.
a.Usefulskew
b.Localskew
c.Globalskew
d.Slack
*5)Crosstalkcanbeavoidedby___.
a.Decreasingthespacingbetweenthemetallayers
b.Shieldingthenets
c.Usinglowermetallayers
d.Usinglongnets
*6)Preroutingmeansroutingof_____.
a.Clocknets
b.Signalnets
c.IOnets
d.PGnets
*7)WhichofthefollowingmetallayerhasMaximumresistance?
a.Metal1
b.Metal2
c.Metal3
d.Metal4
*8)WhatisthegoalofCTS?
a.MinimumIRDrop
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
b.MinimumEM
c.MinimumSkew
d.MinimumSlack
*9)UsuallyHoldisfixed___.
a.BeforePlacement
b.AfterPlacement
c.BeforeCTS
d.AfterCTS
*10)Toachievebettertiming____cellsareplacedinthecritical
path.
a.HVT
b.LVT
c.RVT
d.SVT
*11)Leakagepowerisinverselyproportionalto___.
a.Frequency
b.LoadCapacitance
c.Supplyvoltage
d.ThresholdVoltage
*12)Fillercellsareadded___.
a.BeforePlacementofstdcells
b.AfterPlacementofStdCells
c.BeforeFloorplanning
d.BeforeDetailRouting
*13)SearchandRepairisusedfor___.
a.ReducingIRDrop
b.ReducingDRC
c.ReducingEMviolations
d.None
*14)Maximumcurrentdensityofametalisavailablein___.
a..lib
b..v
c..tf
d..sdc
*15)MoreIRdropisdueto___.
a.Increaseinmetalwidth
b.Increaseinmetallength
c.Decreaseinmetallength
d.Lotofmetallayers
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
*16)Theminimumheightandwidthacellcanoccupyinthedesign
iscalledas___.
a.UnitTilecell
b.Multiheightencell
c.LVTcell
d.HVTcell
*17)CRPRstandsfor___.
a.CellConvergencePessimismRemoval
b.CellConvergencePresetRemoval
c.ClockConvergencePessimismRemoval
d.ClockConvergencePresetRemoval
*18)InOCVtimingcheck,forsetuptime,___.
a.MaxdelayisusedforlaunchpathandMindelayforcapturepath
b.MindelayisusedforlaunchpathandMaxdelayforcapturepath
c.BothMaxdelayisusedforlaunchandCapturepath
d.BothMindelayisusedforbothCaptureandLaunchpaths
*19)"Totalmetalareaand(or)perimeterofconductinglayer/gate
togatearea"iscalled___.
a.Utilization
b.AspectRatio
c.OCV
d.AntennaRatio
*20)TheSolutionforAntennaeffectis___.
a.Diodeinsertion
b.Shielding
c.Bufferinsertion
d.Doublespacing
*21)Toavoidcrosstalk,theshieldednetisusuallyconnectedto
___.
a.VDD
b.VSS
c.BothVDDandVSS
d.Clock
*22)IfthedataisfasterthantheclockinRegtoRegpath___
violationmaycome.
a.Setup
b.Hold
c.Both
d.None
*23)Holdviolationsarepreferredtofix___.
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
a.Beforeplacement
b.Afterplacement
c.BeforeCTS
d.AfterCTS
*24)WhichofthefollowingisnotpresentinSDC___?
a.Maxtran
b.Maxcap
c.Maxfanout
d.Maxcurrentdensity
*25)Timingsanitycheckmeans(withrespecttoPD)___.
a.Checkingtimingofrouteddesignwithoutnetdelays
b.CheckingTimingofplaceddesignwithnetdelays
c.CheckingTimingofunplaceddesignwithoutnetdelays
d.CheckingTimingofrouteddesignwithnetdelays
*26)Whichofthefollowingishavinghighestpriorityatfinalstage
(postrouted)ofthedesign___?
a.Setupviolation
b.Holdviolation
c.Skew
d.None
*27)WhichofthefollowingisbestsuitedforCTS?
a.CLKBUF
b.BUF
c.INV
d.CLKINV
*28)Maxvoltagedropwillbethereat(withoutmacros)___.
a.LeftandRightsides
b.BottomandTopsides
c.Middle
d.None
*29)Whichofthefollowingispreferredwhileplacingmacros___?
a.Macrosplacedcenterofthedie
b.Macrosplacedleftandrightsideofdie
c.Macrosplacedbottomandtopsidesofdie
d.MacrosplacedbasedonconnectivityoftheI/O
*30)Routingcongestioncanbeavoidedby___.
a.placingcellscloser
b.Placingcellsatcorners
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
c.Distributingcells
d.None
*31)Pitchofthewireis___.
a.Minwidth
b.Minspacing
c.Minwidthminspacing
d.Minwidth+minspacing
*32)InPhysicalDesignfollowingstepisnotthere___.
a.Floorplaning
b.Placement
c.DesignSynthesis
d.CTS
*33)Intechnologyfileif7metalsaretherethenwhichmetalsyou
willuseforpower?
a.Metal1andmetal2
b.Metal3andmetal4
c.Metal5andmetal6
d.Metal6andmetal7
*34)Ifmetal6andmetal7areusedforthepowerin7metallayer
processdesignthenwhichmetalsyouwilluseforclock?
a.Metal1andmetal2
b.Metal3andmetal4
c.Metal4andmetal5
d.Metal6andmetal7
*35)InaregtoregtimingpathTclocktoqdelayis0.5nsand
TCombodelayis5nsandTsetupis0.5nsthentheclockperiodshould
be___.
a.1ns
b.3ns
c.5ns
d.6ns
*36)DifferencebetweenClockbuff/invertersandnormal
buff/invertersis__.
a.Clockbuff/invertersarefasterthannormalbuff/inverters
b.Clockbuff/invertersareslowerthannormalbuff/inverters
c.Clockbuff/invertersarehavingequalriseandfalltimeswithhigh
drivestrengthscomparetonormalbuff/inverters
d.Normalbuff/invertersarehavingequalriseandfalltimeswithhigh
drivestrengthscomparetoClockbuff/inverters.
*37)Whichconfigurationismorepreferredduringfloorplaning?
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a.Doublebackwithflippedrows
b.Doublebackwithnonflippedrows
c.Withchannelspacingbetweenrowsandnodoubleback
d.Withchannelspacingbetweenrowsanddoubleback
*38)Whatistheeffectofhighdrivestrengthbufferwhenaddedin
longnet?
a.Delayonthenetincreases
b.Capacitanceonthenetincreases
c.Delayonthenetdecreases
d.Resistanceonthenetincreases.
*39)Delayofacelldependsonwhichfactors?
a.Outputtransitionandinputload
b.InputtransitionandOutputload
c.InputtransitionandOutputtransition
d.InputloadandOutputLoad.
*40)Afterthefinalroutingtheviolationsinthedesign___.
a.Therecanbenosetup,noholdviolations
b.Therecanbeonlysetupviolationbutnohold
c.TherecanbeonlyholdviolationnotSetupviolation
d.Therecanbebothviolations.
*41)Utilisationofthechipafterplacementoptimisationwillbe___.
a.Constant
b.Decrease
c.Increase
d.Noneoftheabove
*42)Whatisroutingcongestioninthedesign?
a.Ratioofrequiredroutingtrackstoavailableroutingtracks
b.Ratioofavailableroutingtrackstorequiredroutingtracks
c.Dependsontheroutinglayersavailable
d.Noneoftheabove
*43)Whatarepreroutesinyourdesign?
a.Powerrouting
b.Signalrouting
c.PowerandSignalrouting
d.Noneoftheabove.
*44)Clocktreedoesn'tcontainfollowingcell___.
a.Clockbuffer
b.ClockInverter
c.AOIcell
d.Noneoftheabove
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*Answers:
1)b
2)c
3)b
4)c
5)b
6)d
7)a
8)c
9)d
10)b
11)d
12)d
13)b
14)c
15)b
16)a
17)c
18)a
19)d
20)a
21)b
22)b
23)d
24)d
25)c
26)b
27)a
28)c
29)d
30)c
31)d
32)c
33)d
34)c
35)d
36)c
37)a
38)c
39)b
40)d
41)c
42)a
43)a
44)c
Backend(PhysicalDesign)InterviewQuestionsandAnswers
*Belowarethesequenceofquestionsaskedforaphysicaldesign
engineer.
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Inwhichfieldareyouinterested?
*Answertothisquestiondependsonyourinterest,expertiseandto
therequirementforwhichyouhavebeeninterviewed.
*Well..thecandidategaveanswer:Lowpowerdesign
Canyoutalkaboutlowpowertechniques?
Howlowpowerandlatest90nm/65nmtechnologiesarerelated?
Doyouknowaboutinputvectorcontrolledmethodofleakage
reduction?
*Leakagecurrentofagateisdependantonitsinputsalso.Hence
findthesetofinputswhichgivesleastleakage.Byapplyigthis
minimumleakagevectortoacircuititispossibletodecreasethe
leakagecurrentofthecircuitwhenitisinthestandbymode.This
methodisknownasinputvectorcontrolledmethodofleakage
reduction.
Howcanyoureducedynamicpower?
*ReduceswitchingactivitybydesigninggoodRTL
*Clockgating
*Architecturalimprovements
*Reducesupplyvoltage
*UsemultiplevoltagedomainsMultivdd
Whatarethevectorsofdynamicpower?
*VoltageandCurrent
Howwillyoudopowerplanning?
IfyouhavebothIRdropandcongestionhowwillyoufixit?
*Spreadmacros
*Spreadstandardcells
*Increasestrapwidth
*Increasenumberofstraps
*Useproperblockage
Isincreasingpowerlinewidthandprovidingmorenumberofstraps
aretheonlysolutiontoIRdrop?
*Spreadmacros
*Spreadstandardcells
*Useproperblockage
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Inaregtoregpathifyouhavesetupproblemwherewillyouinsert
bufferneartolaunchingfloporcaptureflop?Why?
*(buffersareinsertedforfixingfanoutvoilationsandhencethey
reducesetupvoilationotherwisewetrytofixsetupvoilationwiththe
sizingofcellsnowjustassumethatyoumustinsertbuffer!)
*Neartocapturepath.
*Becausetheremaybeotherpathspassingthroughororiginating
fromtheflopnearertolauchflop.Hencebufferinsertionmayaffect
otherpathsalso.Itmayimproveallthosepathsordegarde.Ifall
thosepathshavevoilationthenyoumayinsertbuffernearerto
launchflopprovideditimprovesslack.
Howwillyoudecidebestfloorplan?
Whatisthemostchallengingtaskyouhandled?
WhatisthemostchallengingjobinP&Rflow?
*ItmaybepowerplanningbecauseyoufoundmoreIRdrop
*Itmaybelowpowertargetbecauseyouhadmoredynamicand
leakagepower
*Itmaybemacroplacementbecauseithadmoreconnectionwith
standardcellsormacros
*ItmaybeCTSbecauseyouneededtohandlemultipleclocksand
clockdomaincrossings
*ItmaybetimingbecausesizingcellsinECOflowisnotmeeting
timing
*Itmaybelibrarypreparationbecauseyoufoundsome
inconsistancyinlibraries.
*ItmaybeDRCbecauseyoufacedthousandsofvoilations
Howwillyousynthesizeclocktree?
*Singleclocknormalsynthesisandoptimization
*MultipleclocksSynthesiseachclockseperately
*MultipleclockswithdomaincrossingSynthesiseachclock
seperatelyandbalancetheskew
Howmanyclockswerethereinthisproject?
*Itisspecifictoyourproject
*Moretheclocksmorechallenging!
Howdidyouhandleallthoseclocks?
*Multipleclocks>synthesizeseperately>balancetheskew
>optimizetheclocktree
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AretheycomefromseperateexternalresourcesorPLL?
*Ifitisfromseperateclocksources(i.e.asynchronousfrom
differentpadsorpins)thenbalancingskewbetweentheseclock
sourcesbecomeschallenging.
*IfitisfromPLL(i.e.synchronous)thenskewbalancingis
comparativelyeasy.
Whybuffersareusedinclocktree?
*Tobalanceskew(i.e.floptoflopdelay)
Whatiscrosstalk?
*Switchingofthesignalinonenetcaninterfereneigbouringnetdue
tocrosscouplingcapacitance.Thisaffectisknownascrostalk.Cross
talkmayleadsetuporholdvoilation.
Howcanyouavoidcrosstalk?
*Doublespacing=>morespacing=>lesscapacitance=>lesscross
talk
*Multiplevias=>lessresistance=>lessRCdelay
*Shielding=>constantcrosscouplingcapacitance=>knownvalue
ofcrosstalk
*Bufferinsertion=>boostthevictimstrength
Howshieldingavoidscrosstalkproblem?Whatexactlyhappensthere?
*Highfrequencynoise(orglitch)iscoupledtoVSS(orVDD)since
shildedlayersareconnectedtoeitherVDDorVSS.
*CouplingcapacitanceremainsconstantwithVDDorVSS.
Howspacinghelpsinreducingcrosstalknoise?
*widthismore=>morespacingbetweentwoconductors=>cross
couplingcapacitanceisless=>lesscrosstalk
Whydoublespacingandmultipleviasareusedrelatedtoclock?
*Whyclock?becauseitistheonesignalwhichchagesitstate
regularlyandmorecomparedtoanyothersignal.Ifanyothersignal
switchesfastthenalsowecanusedoublespace.
*Doublespacing=>widthismore=>capacitanceisless=>lesscross
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talk
*Multiplevias=>resistanceinparellel=>lessresistance=>lessRC
delay
Howbuffercanbeusedinvictimtoavoidcrosstalk?
*Bufferincreasevictimssignalstrengthbuffersbreakthenet
length=>victimsaremoretoleranttocoupledsignalfromaggressor.
PhysicalDesignQuestionsandAnswers
*Iamgettingseveralemailsrequestinganswerstothequestions
postedinthisblog.Butitisverydifficulttoprovidedetailedanswerto
allquestionsinmyavailablesparetime.Henceidecidedtogive
"shortandsweet"onelineanswerstothequestionssothatreaders
canimmediatelybenefited.Detailedanswerswillbepostedinlater
stage.Ihavegivenanswerstosomeofthephysicaldesignquestions
here.Enjoy!
Whatparameters(oraspects)differentiateChipDesignandBlock
leveldesign?
*ChipdesignhasI/Opadsblockdesignhaspins.
*Chipdesignusesallmetallayesavailableblockdesignmaynotuse
allmetallayers.
*Chipisgenerallyrectangularinshapeblockscanberectangular,
rectilinear.
*Chipdesignrequiresseveralpackagingblockdesignendsina
macro.
Howdoyouplacemacrosinafullchipdesign?
*Firstcheckflylinesi.e.checknetconnectionsfrommacrotomacro
andmacrotostandardcells.
*Ifthereismoreconnectionfrommacrotomacroplacethose
macrosnearertoeachotherpreferablynearertocoreboundaries.
*Ifinputpinisconnectedtomacrobettertoplacenearertothatpin
orpad.
*Ifmacrohasmoreconnectiontostandardcellsspreadthemacros
insidecore.
*Avoidcriscrossplacementofmacros.
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*Usesoftorhardblockagestoguideplacementengine.
DifferentiatebetweenaHierarchicalDesignandflatdesign?
*Hierarchialdesignhasblocks,subblocksinanhierarchyFlattened
designhasnosubblocksandithasonlyleafcells.
*HierarchicaldesigntakesmoreruntimeFlatteneddesigntakes
lessruntime.
Whichismorecomplicatedwhenuhavea48MHzand500MHzclock
design?
*500MHzbecauseitismoreconstrained(i.e.lesserclockperiod)
than48MHzdesign.
Namefewtoolswhichyouusedforphysicalverification?
*HerculisfromSynopsys,CaliberfromMentorGraphics.
Whataretheinputfileswillyougiveforprimetimecorrelation?
*Netlist,Technologylibrary,Constraints,SPEForSDFfile.
Iftheroutingcongestionexistsbetweentwomacros,thenwhatwill
youdo?
*Providesoftorhardblockage
Howwillyoudecidethediesize?
*Bycheckingthetotalareaofthedesignyoucandecidediesize.
Iflengthymetallayerisconnectedtodiffusionandpoly,thenwhich
onewillaffectbyantennaproblem?
*Poly
Ifthefullchipdesignisroutedby7layermetal,whymacrosare
designedusing5LMinsteadofusing7LM?
*Becausetoptwometallayersarerequiredforglobalroutinginchip
design.Iftopmetallayersarealsousedinblocklevelitwillcreate
routingblockage.
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Inyourprojectwhatisdiesize,numberofmetallayers,technology,
foundry,numberofclocks?
*Diesize:tellinmmeg.1mmx1mmremeber1mm=1000micron
whichisabigsize!!
*Metallayers:Seeyourtechfile.generallyfor90nmitis7to9.
*Technology:Againlookintotechfiles.
*Foundry:Againlookintotechfileseg.TSMC,IBM,ARTISANetc
*Clocks:LookintoyourdesignandSDCfile!
Howmanymacrosinyourdesign?
*Youknowitwellasyouhavedesignedit!ASoC(SystemOnChip)
designmayhave100macrosalso!!!!
Whatiseachmacrosizeandnumberofstandardcellcount?
*Dependsonyourdesign.
Whataretheinputneedsforyourdesign?
*Forsynthesis:RTL,Technologylibrary,Standardcelllibrary,
Constraints
*ForPhysicaldesign:Netlist,Technologylibrary,Constraints,
Standardcelllibrary
WhatisSDCconstraintfilecontains?
*Clockdefinitions
*Timingexceptionmulticyclepath,falsepath
*InputandOutputdelays
Howdidyoudopowerplanning?Howtocalculatecoreringwidth,
macroringwidthandstraportrunkwidth?Howtofindnumberof
powerpadandIOpowerpads?Howthewidthofmetalandnumber
ofstrapscalculatedforpowerandground?
*Getthetotalcorepowerconsumptiongetthemetallayercurrent
densityvaluefromthetechfileDividetotalpowerbynumbersides
ofthechipDividetheobtainedvaluefromthecurrentdensitytoget
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corepowerringwidth.Thencalculatenumberofstrapsusingsome
moreequations.Willbeexplainedindetaillater.
Howtofindtotalchippower?
*Totalchippower=standardcellpowerconsumption,Macropower
consumptionpadpowerconsumption.
Whataretheproblemsfacedrelatedtotiming?
*Prelayout:Setup,Maxtransition,maxcapacitance
*Postlayout:Hold
Howdidyouresolvethesetupandholdproblem?
*Setup:upsizethecells
*Hold:insertbuffers
Inwhichlayerdoyoupreferforclockroutingandwhy?
*Nextlowerlayertothetoptwometallayers(globalroutinglayers).
BecauseithaslessresistancehencelessRCdelay.
Ifinyourdesignhasresetpin,thenitllaffectinputpinoroutputpin
orboth?
*Outputpin.
Duringpoweranalysis,ifyouarefacingIRdropproblem,thenhow
didyouavoid?
*Increasepowermetallayerwidth.
*Goforhighermetallayer.
*Spreadmacrosorstandardcells.
*Providemorestraps.
Defineantennaproblemandhowdidyouresolvetheseproblem?
*Increasednetlengthcanaccumulatemorechargeswhile
manufacturingofthedeviceduetoionisationprocess.Ifthisnetis
connectedtogateoftheMOSFETitcandamagedielectricpropertyof
thegateandgatemayconductcausingdamagetotheMOSFET.This
isantennaproblem.
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*Decreasethelengthofthenetbyprovidingmoreviasandlayer
jumping.
*Insertantennadiode.
HowdelaysvarywithdifferentPVTconditions?Showthegraph.
*Pincrease>dealyincrease
*Pdecrease>delaydecrease
*Vincrease>delaydecrease
*Vdecrease>delayincrease
*Tincrease>delayincrease
*Tdecrease>delaydecrease
Explaintheflowofphysicaldesignandinputsandoutputsforeach
stepinflow.
Whatiscelldelayandnetdelay?
*Gatedelay
*Transistorswithinagatetakeafinitetimetoswitch.Thismeans
thatachangeontheinputofagatetakesafinitetimetocausea
changeontheoutput.[Magma]
*Gatedelay=functionof(i/ptransitiontime,Cnet+Cpin).
*CelldelayisalsosameasGatedelay.
*Celldelay
*Foranygateitismeasuredbetween50%ofinputtransitiontothe
corresponding50%ofoutputtransition.
*Intrinsicdelay
*Intrinsicdelayisthedelayinternaltothegate.Inputpinofthecell
tooutputpinofthecell.
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*Itisdefinedasthedelaybetweenaninputandoutputpairofacell,
whenanearzeroslewisappliedtotheinputpinandtheoutputdoes
notseeanyloadcondition.Itispredominantlycausedbytheinternal
capacitanceassociatedwithitstransistor.
*Thisdelayislargelyindependentofthesizeofthetransistors
formingthegatebecauseincreasingsizeoftransistorsincrease
internalcapacitors.
*NetDelay(orwiredelay)
*Thedifferencebetweenthetimeasignalisfirstappliedtothenet
andthetimeitreachesotherdevicesconnectedtothatnet.
*Itisduetothefiniteresistanceandcapacitanceofthenet.Itisalso
knownaswiredelay.
*Wiredelay=fn(Rnet,Cnet+Cpin)
Whataredelaymodelsandwhatisthedifferencebetweenthem?
*LinearDelayModel(LDM)
*NonLinearDelayModel(NLDM)
Whatiswireloadmodel?
*WireloadmodelisNLDMwhichhasestimatedRandCofthenet.
WhyhighermetallayersarepreferredforVddandVss?
*BecauseithaslessresistanceandhenceleadstolessIRdrop.
Whatislogicoptimizationandgivesomemethodsoflogic
optimization.
*Upsizing
*Downsizing
*Bufferinsertion
*Bufferrelocation
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*Dummybufferplacement
Whatisthesignificanceofnegativeslack?
*negativeslack==>thereissetupvoilation==>deisgncanfail
Whatissignalintegrity?HowitaffectsTiming?
*IRdrop,ElectroMigration(EM),Crosstalk,Groundbounceare
signalintegrityissues.
*IfIdropismore==>delayincreases.
*crosstalk==>therecanbesetupaswellasholdvoilation.
WhatisIRdrop?Howtoavoid?Howitaffectstiming?
*Thereisaresistanceassociatedwitheachmetallayer.This
resistanceconsumespowercausingvoltagedropi.e.IRdrop.
*IfIRdropismore==>delayincreases.
WhatisEManditeffects?
*Duetohighcurrentflowinthemetalatomsofthemetalcan
displacedfromitsorigialplace.Whenithappensinlargeramountthe
metalcanopenorbulgingofmetallayercanhappen.Thiseffectis
knownasElectroMigration.
*Affects:Eithershortoropenofthesignallineorpowerline.
Whataretypesofrouting?
*GlobalRouting
*TrackAssignment
*DetailRouting
Whatislatency?Givethetypes?
*SourceLatency
*Itisknownassourcelatencyalso.Itisdefinedas"thedelayfrom
theclockoriginpointtotheclockdefinitionpointinthedesign".
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*Delayfromclocksourcetobeginningofclocktree(i.e.clock
definitionpoint).
*Thetimeaclocksignaltakestopropagatefromitsidealwaveform
originpointtotheclockdefinitionpointinthedesign.
*Networklatency
*ItisalsoknownasInsertiondelayorNetworklatency.Itisdefined
as"thedelayfromtheclockdefinitionpointtotheclockpinofthe
register".
*Thetimeclocksignal(riseorfall)takestopropagatefromtheclock
definitionpointtoaregisterclockpin.
Whatistrackassignment?
*Secondstageoftheroutingwhereinparticularmetaltracks(or
layers)areassignedtothesignalnets.
Whatiscongestion?
*Ifthenumberofroutingtracksavailableforroutingislessthanthe
requiredtracksthenitisknownascongestion.
Whethercongestionisrelatedtoplacementorrouting?
*Routing
Whatareclocktrees?
*Distributionofclockfromtheclocksourcetothesyncpinofthe
registers.
Whatareclocktreetypes?
*Htree,Balancedtree,Xtree,Clusteringtree,Fishbone
Whatiscloningandbuffering?
*Cloningisamethodofoptimizationthatdecreasestheloadofa
heavilyloadedcellbyreplicatingthecell.
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*Bufferingisamethodofoptimizationthatisusedtoinsertbeffers
inhighfanoutnetstodecreasethedealy.
Whatisthedifferencebetweensoftmacroandhardmacro?
*Whatisthedifferencebetweenhardmacro,firmmacroandsoft
macro?
or
*WhatareIPs?
*Hardmacro,firmmacroandsoftmacroareallknownasIP
(Intellectualproperty).Theyareoptimizedforpower,areaand
performance.TheycanbepurchasedandusedinyourASICorFPGA
designimplementationflow.SoftmacroisflexibleforalltypeofASIC
implementation.HardmacrocanbeusedinpureASICdesignflow,
notinFPGAflow.BeforebyinganyIPitisveryimportanttoevaluate
itsadvantagesanddisadvantagesovereachother,hardware
compatibilitysuchasI/Ostandardswithyourdesignblocks,
reusabilityforotherdesigns.
Softmacros
*SoftmacrosareinsynthesizableRTL.
*Softmacrosaremoreflexiblethanfirmorhardmacros.
*Softmacrosarenotspecifictoanymanufacturingprocess.
*Softmacroshavethedisadvantageofbeingsomewhat
unpredictableintermsofperformance,timing,area,orpower.
*SoftmacroscarrygreaterIPprotectionrisksbecauseRTLsource
codeismoreportableandtherefore,lesseasilyprotectedthaneither
anetlistorphysicallayoutdata.
*Fromthephysicaldesignperspective,softmacroisanycellthat
hasbeenplacedandroutedinaplacementandroutingtoolsuchas
Astro.(ThisisthedefinitiongiveninAstroRailusermanual!)
*Softmacrosareeditableandcancontainstandardcells,hard
macros,orothersoftmacros.
Firmmacros
*Firmmacrosareinnetlistformat.
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*Firmmacrosareoptimizedforperformance/area/powerusinga
specificfabricationtechnology.
*Firmmacrosaremoreflexibleandportablethanhardmacros.
*Firmmacrosarepredictiveofperformanceandareathansoft
macros.
Hardmacro
*HardmacrosaregenerallyintheformofhardwareIPs(orwe
termeditashardwreIPs!).
*HardmacosaretargetedforspecificICmanufacturingtechnology.
*Hardmacrosareblockleveldesignswhicharesilicontestedand
proved.
*Hardmacroshavebeenoptimizedforpowerorareaortiming.
*Inphysicaldesignyoucanonlyaccesspinsofhardmacrosunlike
softmacroswhichallowsustomanipulateindifferentway.
*Youhavefreedomtomove,rotate,flipbutyoucan'ttouchanything
insidehardmacros.
*Verycommonexampleofhardmacroismemory.Itcanbeany
designwhichcarriesdedicatedsinglefunctionality(ingeneral)..for
exampleitcanbeaMP4decoder.
*Beawareoffeaturesandcharacteristicsofhardmacrobeforeyou
useitinyourdesign...otherthanpower,timingandareayoualso
shouldknowpinpropertieslikesyncpin,I/Ostandardsetc
*LEF,GDS2fileformatallowseasyusageofmacrosindifferent
tools.
Fromthephysicaldesign(backend)perspective:
*Hardmacroisablockthatisgeneratedinamethodologyother
thanplaceandroute(i.e.usingfullcustomdesignmethodology)and
isbroughtintothephysicaldesigndatabase(eg.Milkywayin
SynopsysVolcanoinMagma)asaGDS2file.
SynthesisandplacementofmacrosinmodernSoCdesignsare
challenging.EDAtoolsemploydifferentalgorithmsaccomplishthis
taskalongwiththetargetofpowerandarea.Thereareseveral
researchpapersavailableonthesesubjects.Someofthemcanbe
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
downloadedfromthegivenlinkbelow.
Whatisdifferencebetweennormalbufferandclockbuffer?
Answer:
ClocknetisoneoftheHighFanoutNet(HFN)s.Theclockbuffersare
designedwithsomespecialpropertylikehighdrivestrengthandless
delay.Clockbuffershaveequalriseandfalltime.Thispreventsduty
cycleofclocksignalfromchangingwhenitpassesthroughachainof
clockbuffers.
NormalbuffersaredesignedwithW/Lratiosuchthatsumofrise
timeandfalltimeisminimum.Theytooaredesignedforhigherdrive
strength.
WhatisdifferencebetweenHFNsynthesisandCTS?
Answer:
HFNsaresynthesizedinfrontendalso....butatthatmomentno
placementinformationofstandardcellsareavailable...hence
backendtoolcollapsessynthesizedHFNs.ItresenthesizesHFNs
basedonplacementinformationandappropriatelyinsertsbuffer.
Targetofthissynthesisistomeetdelayrequirementsi.e.setupand
hold.
Forclocknosynthesisiscarriedoutinfrontend
(why.....????..becausenoplacementinformationofflipflops!So
synthesiswon'tmeettrueskewtargets!!)...inbackendclocktree
synthesistriestomeet"skew"targets...Itinsertsclockbuffers(which
haveequalriseandfalltime,unlikenormalbuffers!)...Thereisno
skewinformationforanyHFNs.
Isitpossibletohaveazeroskewinthedesign?
Answer:
Theoreticallyitispossible....!
Practicallyitisimpossible....!!
Practicallywecantreduceanydelaytozero....delaywillexist...
hencewetrytomakeskew"equal"(orsame)ratherthan
"zero"......nowwiththisoptimizationallflopsgettheclockedgewith
samedelayrelativetoeachother....sovirtuallywecansaytheyare
having"zeroskew"orskewis"balanced".
PhysicalDesignInterviewQuestions
BelowaretheimportantinterviewquestionsforVLSIphysicaldesign
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
aspirants.Interviewstartswithflowofphysicaldesignandgoes
on.....on....on.....Iamtryingtomakeyourlifeeasy.....letme
prepareanswerstoalltheseifsoftform....assoonasithappens
thoseanswerswillbepostedincomingblogs.
*
Whatparameters(oraspects)differentiateChipDesign&Blocklevel
design??
*
Howdoyouplacemacrosinafullchipdesign?
*
DifferentiatebetweenaHierarchicalDesignandflatdesign?
*
Whichismorecomplicatedwhenuhavea48MHzand500MHzclock
design?
*
Namefewtoolswhichyouusedforphysicalverification?
*
Whataretheinputfileswillyougiveforprimetimecorrelation?
*
Whatarethealgorithmsusedwhilerouting?Willitoptimizewire
length?
*
HowwillyoudecidethePinlocationinblockleveldesign?
*
Iftheroutingcongestionexistsbetweentwomacros,thenwhatwill
youdo?
*
Howwillyouplacethemacros?
*
Howwillyoudecidethediesize?
*
Iflengthymetallayerisconnectedtodiffusionandpoly,thenwhich
onewillaffectbyantennaproblem?
*
Ifthefullchipdesignisroutedby7layermetal,whymacrosare
designedusing5LMinsteadofusing7LM?
*
Inyourprojectwhatisdiesize,numberofmetallayers,technology,
foundry,numberofclocks?
*
Howmanymacrosinyourdesign?
*
Whatiseachmacrosizeandno.ofstandardcellcount?
*
HowdiduhandletheClockinyourdesign?
*
WhataretheInputneedsforyourdesign?
*
WhatisSDCconstraintfilecontains?
*
Howdidyoudopowerplanning?
*
Howtofindtotalchippower?
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28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
*
Howtocalculatecoreringwidth,macroringwidthandstraportrunk
width?
*
HowtofindnumberofpowerpadandIOpowerpads?
*
Whataretheproblemsfacedrelatedtotiming?
*
Howdiduresolvethesetupandholdproblem?
*
Ifinyourdesign10000andmorenumbersofproblemscome,then
whatyouwilldo?
*
Inwhichlayerdoyoupreferforclockroutingandwhy?
*
Ifinyourdesignhasresetpin,thenitllaffectinputpinoroutputpin
orboth?
*
Duringpoweranalysis,ifyouarefacingIRdropproblem,thenhow
diduavoid?
*
Defineantennaproblemandhowdiduresolvetheseproblem?
*
HowdelaysvarywithdifferentPVTconditions?Showthegraph.
*
Explaintheflowofphysicaldesignandinputsandoutputsforeach
stepinflow.
*
Whatiscelldelayandnetdelay?
*
Whataredelaymodelsandwhatisthedifferencebetweenthem?
*
Whatiswireloadmodel?
*
WhatdoesSDCconstraintshas?
*
WhyhighermetallayersarepreferredforVddandVss?
*
Whatislogicoptimizationandgivesomemethodsoflogic
optimization.
*
Whatisthesignificanceofnegativeslack?
*
Whatissignalintegrity?HowitaffectsTiming?
*
WhatisIRdrop?Howtoavoid.howitaffectstiming?
*
WhatisEManditeffects?
*
Whatisfloorplanandpowerplan?
*
Whataretypesofrouting?
*
Whatisagrid.whyweneedanddifferenttypesofgrids?
http://vlsichip.blogspot.in/ 48/50
28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
*
Whatiscoreandhowuwilldecidew/hratioforcore?
*
Whatiseffectiveutilizationandchiputilization?
*
Whatislatency?Givethetypes?
*
Howthewidthofmetalandnumberofstrapscalculatedforpower
andground?
*
Whatisnegativeslack?Howitaffectstiming?
*
Whatistrackassignment?
*
Whatisgridedandgridlessrouting?
*
Whatisamacroandstandardcell?
*
Whatiscongestion?
*
Whethercongestionisrelatedtoplacementorrouting?
*
Whatareclocktrees?
*
Whatareclocktreetypes?
*
Whichlayerisusedforclockroutingandwhy?
*
Whatiscloningandbuffering?
*
Whatareplacementblockages?
*
Howslowandfasttransitionatinputseffecttimingforgates?
*
Whatisantennaeffect?
*
WhatareDFMissues?
*
Whatis.lib,LEF,DEF,.tf?
*
Whatisthedifferencebetweensynthesisandsimulation?
*
Whatismetaldensity,metalslottingrule?
*
WhatisOPC,PSM?
*
WhyclockisnotsynthesizedinDC?
*
WhatarehighVtandlowVtcells?
*
Whatcornercellscontains?
*
Whatisthedifferencebetweencorefillercellsandmetalfillers?
*
http://vlsichip.blogspot.in/ 49/50
28/03/2017 VLSIInterviewQuestions
Howtodecidenumberofpadsinchipleveldesign?
*
Whatistiehighandtielowcellsandwhereitisused
*
WhatisLEF?
*
WhatisDEF?
*
Whatarethestepsinvolvedindesigninganoptimalpadring?
*Whatarethestepsthatyouhavedoneinthedesignflow?
*Whataretheissuesinfloorplan?
*Howcanyouestimateareaofblock?
*Howmuchaspectratioshouldbekept(orhaveyoukept)andwhat
istheutilization?
*Howtocalculatecoreringandstripewidths?
*Whatifhotspotfoundinsomeareaofblock?Howyoutacklethis?
*Afteraddingstripesalsoifyouhavehotspotwhattodo?
*Whatisthresholdvoltage?Howitaffecttiming?
*Whatiscontentoflib,lef,sdc?
*Whatismeantmy9track,12trackstandardcells?
*Whatisscanchain?Whatifscanchainnotdetachedand
reordered?Isitcompulsory?
*Whatissetupandhold?Whythereare?Whatifsetupandhold
violates?
*Inacircuit,forregtoregpath...Tclktoqis50ps,Tcombo50ps,
Tsetup50ps,tskewis100ps.Thenwhatisthemaximumoperating
frequency?
*HowRandCvaluesareaffectingtime?
*Howohm(R),fared(C)isrelatedtosecond(T)?
*Whatistransition?Whatiftransitiontimeismore?
*Whatisdifferencebetweennormalbufferandclockbuffer?
*Whatisantennaeffect?Howitisavoided?
*WhatisESD?
*Whatiscrosstalk?Howcanyouavoid?
*Howdoublespacingwillavoidcrosstalk?
*WhatisdifferencebetweenHFNsynthesisandCTS?
*Whatisholdproblem?Howcanyouavoidit?
*Foraniterationwehave0.5nsofinsertiondelayand0.1skewand
forotheriteration0.29nsinsertiondelayand0.25skewforthesame
circuitthenwhichoneyouwillselect?Why?
*Whatispartialfloorplan?
PostedbyVLSI_Rulesat10:37AM5comments:
Labels:analysis,asic,backend,buffer,chip,clock,cmos,
delay,design,layout,optimization,physical,routing,sta,
synthesis,timing,tree,vlsi
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