METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN OF RADIATION-HARDENED INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

摘要

A method, system, and computer program product include electronic design automation (EDA) tools used with standard CMOS processes to design and produce radiation-hardened (rad-hard) integrated circuits (ICs) having a predictable level of radiation hardness while maintaining a desired level of performance and tracking circuit area. The tools include rad-hard design rule checking (DRC) decks, rad-hard SPICE models, and rad-hard cell libraries. A rad-hard parasitic components extraction process makes use of rad-hard DRC rules to locate occurrences of parasitic devices, calculate their effects on circuit performance, and return this information to layout and circuit simulation tools. Changes to the layout are suggested and implemented with varying degrees of automation. Some of these tools can be provided as components of a rad-hard process design kit (PDK). They can be used in conjunction with commercial EDA tools to facilitate the incorporation of rad-hard features into new or existing IC designs.