Beruflich Dokumente
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SALIL CHATRATH
BE 071195
STMicroelectronics is an Italian-French electronics and semiconductor manufacturer
headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
STMicroelectronics was created in 1987 by the merger of SGS Microelettronica of Italy
and Thomson Semiconductors of France with the aim of becoming a world leader in the
sub-micron era.
The Noida site was launched in 1992 to conduct software engineering activities.
The site hosts mainly design teams. It is now primarily involved with the design of
home video products (Set-Top Box, DVD), GPS and Wireless LAN chips, and
accompanying software. The employee strength in Greater Noida is around 2400.
PROJECT ABSTRACT
Characterization of a memory means to get information about its behavior in terms of
different timings (access time, set-up time, hold time etc),powers (dynamic, static and
leakage power), and capacitances when a set of specified input is applied to the memory.
For the characterization we need different kind of simulators each having different
accuracy, performance aspects. So it is required to constantly evaluate and select the
simulator to be used according to the performance required for the specific compiler.
TYPES OF MEMORIES
SMEM Group
Responsible for the development of SRAM memory compilers in CMOS
technology
COMPARISON BETWEEN MEMORIES
Type Volatile Writeable Erase Size Max Erase Cycles Cost (per byte) Speed
•The address latch block, receives the address.
•The higher order bits of the address are connected
to the row decoder, which selects a row in the
memory cell array.
•The lower order address bits go to the column
decoder, which selects the required columns.
The number of column selected depends on the
data width of the chip that is the number of data
lines of chip, which determines how many bits
can be accessed during a read or write operation.
FUNCTIONAL SRAM CHIP MODEL ( Contd .)
•When the read/write line indicates read operation,
the contents of the selected cells in the memory
cell array are amplified by the sense amplifiers,
loaded in the data register & presented on the
data-out line(s).
•During a write operation the data on the data-in
line(s) are loaded into the data register & written
in to the memory cell array through the write
driver. Usually the data-in & data-outlines are
combined to form bidirectional data lines, thus
reducing the number of pins on the chip.
•The chip-select line enables the data register,
together with read/write line, the write driver.
SRAM CORE ARRAY
•Wordline
•Bitline (b & b bar)
•Due to normal variations in device
parameters and operating conditions, it
is difficult to obtain reliable operation
at full speed using a single access line.
Therefore, the symmetrical data paths
b and ~b are usually used.
•
•
MEMORY ARCHITECTURE
Basic Architecture:
•A single Row decoder is connected to entire Memory Array.
•With Increase in Core Size wordline delay increases (increase in the wordline
capacitance).
CONTROL MUX
SENSE AMPLIFIER
I/0 Circuitry
In this type of architecture, reduction is performed by splitting the matrix in smaller
blocks.
•World line Capacitance is reduced.
•The reduction in the RC delay is observed because of the split bank.
•But, the activation of a wordline activates the entire cell in both of the core areas.
•No advantage in terms of Power Dissipation.
In split-core, architecture although the bank is split is two parts but the word line activates
the cell in both and no gain in power is observed.
Thus to reduce the run length of the word lines, a new architecture is analyzed
GLOBAL ROW LOCAL ROW CORE (MEMORY ARRAY) LOCAL ROW CORE (MEMORY
DECODER DECODER [32K] DECODER ARRAY)
[32K]
LOCAL CONTROL LOCAL I/0 Circuitry
ROW DECODER CORE (MEMORY
ARRAY)
[32K]
LOCAL CONTROL LOCAL I/0 Circuitry
GLOBAL CONTROL MUX
SENSE AMPLIFIER
GLOBAL I/0 Circuitry
A memory cell is an electronic device which can retain the state of a node even after the
input is removed. The very basic memory cell is a latch.
6T MEMORY CELL
The basic static RAM cell is consists of two cross-coupled inverters and two access
transistors. The access transistors are connected to the wordline at their respective gate
terminals, and the bitlines at their source/drain terminals.
*It is a Bistable circuit.
*Capable of being driven into one of two
states.
*This cell is “static” since it does not need to
have its data refreshed as long as the dc
power is applied.
•The bit lines are precharged to VDD.
•Then the word line is made high.
•It causes one of the bit line to discharge
while the other remains high.
•Bit lines has a much higher capacitance than
A B
than the capacitor of a single cell.
•The level of BL as a result become lower
than BL\ & this differential signal is
detected by the
•Differential amplifier(sense amplifier)
connected to the BL & BL\ lines.
•Condition : V1< Vtn2
Write Circuitry of SRAM
•The operation of writing 0 or 1 is accomplished by forcing one bitline, either b or b bar, low
while the other bitline remains at about VDD.
SENSE AMPLIFIER
During the read operation one bitline discharges
while the other remains at vdd. After some time
there will be a detectable difference in the voltage
levels of bitline and bitline bar. So we need
a circuitry which can detect this small difference
in the voltage levels, thus saving time by not
making bitline discharge fully.
Sense Amplifier Circuitry
SenseAmplifier Circuitry.
SA E A B BL BL\
PERFORMANCE ASPECTS OF MEMORY CELL
At node ‘A’ there will be a
voltage, which can rise due to
wrong transistor size selection
and cause the memory cell to
be flipped. This voltage is
known as GROUND BUMP or
GROUND BOUNCE. From
the design point of view it
should be kept low.
PERFORMANCE ASPECTS OF MEMORY CELL
Noise margin describes the amount of variation in the signal levels that can be allowed
while signal is transmitting. In short, static noise margin describes the noise tolerance range
of the memory cell while performing the read operation. For data retention while reading in
noise environment, we need to keep some margin at the time of memory cell designing and
this should be more than 10% of Vdd.
•SLOW PMOS :
Since the current carrying capacity will be less because its resistance is high, so, it will not
hold value at node B for longer time.
CHARACTERIZATION OF MEMORY
A Memory cut or Cut is an independent memory unit of fixed size with particular
combination of various required blocks. A generator or compiler can generate many cuts on
the basis of feasible permutations and combinations in a defined specified range.
For example
I / 0 Circuitry
Generator
FUNDAMENTALS OF CHARACTERIZATION
Characterization of a memory means to get information about its behavior in terms of
different timings (access time, set-up time, hold time etc.), powers (dynamic, static and
leakage power), and capacitances when a set of specified input is applied to the memory. It
is done by running the simulations and then doing measurements from the simulated
values
CHARACTERIZATION OF MEMORY ( Contd .)
Timing Characterization
The Timing measurement task is to characterize all the timings defined in the memory
generators specification. The need is to define the constraint timings between the signals
applied to these pins. Typically they are setup and hold time of each signal like address,
data, chip select, write enable, mask.
Leakage Characterization
The leakage power is characterized to give the customer, the power consumed by the
memory when it is idle. The memory is selected (CSN low) but all signals are INACTIVE .
Pincap Characterization
The capacitance of all the external pins needs to be characterized. To measure, the
capacitance of any pin, voltage source is connected to this node, and the current passing
through this voltage source is integrated to calculate the capacitance of the node.
Power Characterization
The power measurement is done to characterize the various powers consumed by the
memory. All the measurement should be aligned to Power Estimation Methodology.
Precaution to be taken is that the power measured, should be of the actual memory only.
MCF
MCF takes an input setup and characterizes instances defined in cutlist file at the PVTs
(Process, Voltage and Temperature) defined in measure.setup file. It starts the process by
first preparing a netlist for the exact instance and then simulates it with the help of other
input files defined in the mcf setup.
PRE_LAYOUT PPS
CUTLIST
Flow of MCF
SIMULATORS
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing, state of affairs, or process. Key issues in
simulation include :
•The use of simplifying approximations and assumptions within the simulation
•Fidelity and validity of the simulation outcomes.
•High costs of photolithographic masks and other manufacturing prerequisites.
•Characterization of the circuit keeping in view the behavior of other IP connected along
with the memory
•For integrated circuits, probing the behavior of internal signals is extremely difficult
without the use of circuit simulators.
TYPES OF SIMULATORS
SIMULATORS
True SPICE Simulators
Highly Accurate.
Performance an Issue ( large run time).
Used as benchmark Simulator.
It takes a text netlist describing the circuit elements (transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc.)
and their connections, and translates this description into equations to be solved. The
general equations produced are nonlinear differential algebraic equations which are
solved using implicit integration methods, Newton's method and sparse matrix techniques.
BASIC OPERATION :
At each time step, SPICE builds a
small-signal model (i.e. linear
model) at the operating point:
Small Signal Model
Constructs and Solve the matrix equation : A.x=b
Before transient or other analysis is performed, a stable DC Operating point must be set –
this can either be calculated by the simulator or given by user.
Once a stable DC Operating point has been found , SPICE can proceed to transient or
time-domain analysis. During transient analysis, simulator attempts to compute an
accurate approximation to the analytical solution for the given circuit at discrete time
points using a numerical integration method.
TRUE SPICE SIMULATORS ( Contd .)
STRENGTHS :
The main benefit True Spice Simulators offer over other simulators is precision. Due to this
feature, they are used as the reference or benchmarking simulators.
LIMITATIONS :
1. While True Spice offers superior precision, it can do so for circuits of limited size.
Because the bigger the circuit, the more complex matrix equations are there to be solved,
which would naturally take more time.
2. Convergence can be an issue for some classes of circuits, particularly sensitive or high-
gain ones. This is purely an issue with numerical integration, worse for some integration
methods than others. As circuit gets larger & includes more non-linear behavior,
convergence has become more difficult.
Example of True-SPICE simulators
• ELDO (Mentor Graphics)
• SPECTRE (CADENCE)
• HSPICE (SYNOPSYS)
INCREASING NEED FOR FAST - SPICE
Need of Fast Spice Simulators
INCREASING NEED FOR FAST - SPICE
36
Features
•Fast-SPICE simulators are transistor-level circuit simulators that achieve faster
simulation runtime than SPICE.
•Fast-SPICE is generally used for functional verification on large designs that aren’t
able to simulate in SPICE.
•Fast SPICE simulators take “short-cuts” based on the knowledge of present
technologies to improve the performance of the simulation.
Circuit Partitioning
Table Look-up Model
Dynamic Time Step Control
Circuit Partitioning
7 8 9
C ircu it p a rtitio n in g 1 2 3
4 5 6
It cuts a single large system into smaller “independent” groups, therefore many smaller
matrices are to be solved.
Table lookup model is used to replace analytical model in order to speed up simulation.
• It describes the characteristics of the specified MOS model based on the device size.
FAST - SPICE SIMULATORS ( Contd .)
XA, NANOSIM,
HSIM
ULTRASIM
ADiT
FINESIM
DETAILED STUDY OF XA
• XA is a high-capacity easy-to-use tool for transistor-level circuit simulation. XA supports
simulation of netlists in both the pre-layout and post-layout domains. It provides a
scalable accuracy vs. speed trade-off.
• Time to results (setup/configuration plus simulation time) is typically much better than
other Fast-SPICE simulators .
• Combination of the best fast-SPICE technologies from NanoSim, HSIM, and Star-
SimXT plus new technologies.
NEED OF XA - DEGRADING PERFORMANCE OF
NANOSIM
Low
Priority Medium
High
Simulator - A Simulator - B
×
Average Runtime greater than 30mins
Average Runtime lesser than 15mins
Runtime
NANOSIM
HSIM
XA
44
Option provided in XA for ACCURACY – PERFORMANCE Trade off
XA PERFORMANCE DATA - TIMING
ACCURACY (25944 Samples) PERFORMANCE (606 Samples)
SET_SIM_LEVEL 6 SET_SIM_LEVEL 5 Gain Over True Absolute
Spice Value
Absolute Diff % Diff Absolute Diff % Diff
Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Avg Max Min Avg
27ps 0ps 11.43% 0% 254ps 1ps 18.31% 0.12% 77.95X 3.71X 24.87X 2152 sec 127 333.23
sec sec
XA PERFORMANCE DATA - POWER
ACCURACY (25944 Samples) PERFORMANCE (606 Samples)
SET_SIM_LEVEL 6 SET_SIM_LEVEL 5 Gain Over True Absolute
Spice Value
Absolute Diff % Diff Absolute Diff % Diff
Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Avg Max Min Avg
1.347 0μA/MH 1674.7% 0% 1.695μA 0.001μ 1865.3% 0.01% 53.73X 1.7X 17.89X 2911 121 505.87
μA/MHz z /MHz A/MHz sec sec sec
XA PERFORMANCE DATA - LEAKAGE
48
WORK DONE IN SIMULATORS
1. ACCURACY CHECKS
Many of the new features of Fast spice simulators were checked at different design corners and PVTs
and accuracy compared with that of true spice results.
Many of the options were tweaked to adjust the speed – accuracy trade off ratio (for both true spice
and fast spice simulators) and then its effects on runtime were analyzed maintaining accuracy within
permissible limits..
3. TESTCASE TRANSFER
Many of the violations, accuracy issues(during Timing, Leakage and Power Characterizations) in the
simulator observed in the several runs were compiled and reported as testcases to the simulator
vendors mentioning the cause and location of the faults which were then resolved at their end
•
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QUESTIONS?
• Thank you for your time &
attention