Sahagun, Jasier E.

Microelectronics Laboratory
BS Computer Engineering Friday 07:00am – 10:00am

Experiment No. 4
CMOS Inverter Layout

A. Layout
1. Load Electric

2. Open the library Lab_Exercise.

3. Setup Electric for layout entry. Follow instructions below on how to set the
Layout Technology and changing the Lambda Size.

Setting the Layout Technology

1. Click on Technology → Change Current Technology… from the pulldown menu.
2. Select mocmossub as the technology (you will have to scroll down to find it).
3. Click OK. The symbols in the schematic menu will change to a mocmos subset.
 Changing the Lambda Size
1. Click on Technology → Change Units.
2. Change Lambda Size to 350.
3. Change Display Units to Microns.
4. Change Internal Units to Half-Millimicrons.
5. Click OK.

4. Create new facet inverter_lay in library Lab_Exercise with layout as the facet
view. Make sure that the current technology is mocmossub.
Creating a New Layout Facet
1. Click on Facets → Edit Facet.
2. Select the appropriate library.
3. Click New Facet.
4. Type the facet name that you want to create. Set the facet view to layout.
5. Click OK.

5. Layout the CMOS inverter according to the design rules given in Appendix
B of the ASTI Training Manual. Figure 2 is a sample layout of a CMOS
inverter. Before proceeding with the layout implementation, the trainees are
strongly encouraged to read the transistor layout tips given in the Appendix
 C of the ASTI Training Manual. Follow instruction below on how to add
Nodes and Arcs.
Note: Lp, Ln = 0.35μm; Wp = 3.2μm; Wn = 0.8μm

Adding Nodes
1. Select a node from the components menu by using the left mouse button.
2. Click on the design window.
Note: Nodes in the mocmossub components menu are the ones in blue outlines.

Adding Arcs
1. Select an arc in the components menu.
2. Choose the arc starting point by left clicking the node near the desired port.
Make sure that the desired port is highlighted before proceeding to the next step.
3. To create the arc, right click on another node port (to connect two node ports)
or anywhere on the design window (to create an arc segment). Once an arc has
been created, the other end is highlighted.
Note: Arcs in the mocmossub components menu are the ones in red outlines.

6. Add the export pins. Label each pin properly. Follow instructions below on
how to add export pins.

Adding Export Pins

1. Select the node or arc to be exported.
2. Click on Export → Create Export….
3. Type the export name and indicate the appropriate export characteristic.
7. After doing the layout, check for any design rule violation. Click on Tools →
DRC → Hierarchical Check.

Checking the Layout for Design Rule Errors

Before proceeding to the simulation, check for any layout violations by running a
Design Rule Check (DRC). Design rules are the set of rules that must be followed
when a given design is laid out. To run a DRC, click on Tools → DRC →
Hierarchical Check.
 8. If no violations are reported save the inverter layout and close its design
window.
Saving the Layout
To save the layout that you created click on File → Save All Libraries from the
pulldown menu. (Using the shortcut control key Ctrl-S will also save the layout.) A
message confirming that all facets of the library has been saved will be displayed
in the message window.

B. Simulation

9. Create new facet inverter_lay_tst with schematic as the facet view. Make
sure that the current technology is schematic, analog.

10. Click on Edit → New Facet Instance. Choose library Lab_Exercise. Select
inverter_lay{lay} from this library. Click on the design window.

11. Click on Export → Re-Export Everything. Add necessary components for

simulation such as voltage/current sources, ground, voltage/current meters
and load capacitances. Please refer to Laboratory Exercise 2 for these
components.
12. Save the schematic. Create a SPICE netlist and simulate the circuit using
WinSpice. Follow instructions below on how to create a SPICE Netlist using
Layout Instance.

Creating a SPICE Netlist Using the Layout Instance

1. Change the current technology to mocmossub. Notice that the symbols in the
components menu will change from a schematic set to a layout set.
2. Click on Tools → Simulation Interface → SPICE Options….
a. Set the File format to SPICE3 and the SPICE level to 3.
b. Check the Use Node Names option.
c. Check the Use Parasitics option.
d. Click on Use Header Cards From File. In the SPICE Model File
Selection window set the file type to All Files (*.*).
e. Browse through the folder list to locate the model file
(\\Electric\models\BSIM3v31.txt). Select the model file.
f. Click OK.
 3. Before creating the SPICE netlist, make sure that all connections are checked.
Refer to Transistor Layout on the Tips in Appendix C.
4. Click on Tools → Simulation Interface →Write SPICE Deck from the
pulldown menu to create a SPICE netlist of your circuit design.
5. Add a .cir extension to the file name.
6. Click Save.

13. Complete the table below by varying the width of the PMOS transistor.
Round off your answers to two decimal places.
Note: To view and edit the layout while in the inverter_lay_tst schematic, select
the inverter icon inverter instance in the design window and press Ctrl-D. To go
back to the inverter_lay_tst schematic window, simply press Ctrl-U.

Load Capacitance = 100fF and Wp = 3.2 microns

Load Capacitance = 100fF and Wp = 1.6microns

Load Capacitance = 100fF and Wp = 0.8microns

Load Capacitance = 500fF and Wp = 3.2 microns

 Load Capacitance = 500fF and Wp = 1.6 microns

Load Capacitance = 500fF and Wp = 0.8 microns

WN WF τPHL τPLH τfall τrise τP

0.80μm 3.20μm 0.70ns 0.03ns 1.21ns 0.56ns 0.50ns
0.80μm 1.60μm 0.65ns 0.54ns 1.21ns 0.88ns 0.58ns
0.80μm 0.80μm 0.63ns 1.04ns 1.28ns 1.87ns 0.83ns
Table 2

14. Repeat the above procedures for loadcap = 500fF. Complete table 3 below.
Roundoff your answers to two decimal places.

WN WF τPHL τPLH τfall τrise τP

0.80μm 3.20μm 2.18ns 0.95ns 5.59ns 1.77ns 1.56ns
0.80μm 1.60μm 2.77ns 1.86ns 5.60ns 3.75ns 2.33ns
0.80μm 0.80μm 2.74ns 4.34ns 5.59ns 9.15ns 3.54ns

15. Compare the data obtained from Exercise 2 and Exercise 4. Note down
your observation.
16. Determine the Area of your layout following the steps below:
Area = __________________________
Determining the Area of the Layout
1. Click on Info → Measure Distance from the pulldown menu.
2. Press X on the keyboard. This key tells Electric that you are ready to
specify the starting point of your measurement.
3. Left click on the starting point of your measurement.
4. Left click on the end point of your measurement. A line appears and
the value of the length is shown.
5. Press the Enter key when done.