Mentor Graphics Calibre LFD certifications at TSMC include 28nm with TSMC UDFM engine

WILSONVILLE, USA: Mentor Graphics Corp. announced that its Calibre LFD (Litho-Friendly Design) solution is fully qualified for the latest 28nm processes at TSMC. The Calibre toolset enables TSMC customers to accurately predict and remove lithography hotspots in the design flow before hand-off to TSMC for wafer manufacturing.

“At advanced nodes, designers not only need access to an exact copy of TSMC’s process models to accurately assess lithography issues, they also need those process models incorporated into EDA tools that then drive resolution of any issues encountered,” said Shauh-Teh Juang, senior director of Design Infrastructure Marketing at TSMC.

“Our collaborative solution, which includes TSMC’s Unified DFM (UDFM) framework, an encapsulated LPC engine, and Calibre LFD, allows our mutual customers to identify and resolve design-related litho hotspots at TSMC’s most advanced process, while continuing to work within the same Calibre verification platform they have been using for multiple generations.”

The Calibre LFD tool allows designers to identify litho hot spots, i.e., layout topologies that are sensitive to litho process variations and are primary contributors to systematic failures.

By accurately showing the effects of the lithographic process on “as-built” layout geometry, the Calibre LFD tool enables designers to make trade-off decisions early, resulting in a design that is more robust and less sensitive to variations across the lithographic process window. This level of analysis is increasingly important at 40nm and below, where the interaction between different design styles—and even small process variations—can greatly influence silicon results.

The new LPC engine provided by TSMC under its UDFM initiative is an integral part of the DFM Data Kit (DDK) provided by TSMC to all of its customers. The Calibre LFD tool users only need to download the 28nm kit in the usual manner to get the full benefits of the TSMC UDFM LPC engine in their existing Calibre DFM flow. Incorporation of UDFM and TSMC’s LPC engine for 28nm is completely transparent for users and requires no changes to the flow compared to 65nm and 40nm.

“TSMC and Mentor are jointly providing a best-in-class solution,” said Joseph Sawicki, vice president and general manager for the Design-to-Silicon division at Mentor Graphics. “This collaborative solution provides our mutual customers with access to accurate foundry process data provided by TSMC, while they continue to use Mentor’s proven Calibre tools to ensure fast turnaround and the best quality of results.”