Si2 releases OpenDFM 1.1 physical verification standard

AUSTIN, USA: The Silicon Integration Initiative (Si2) announced that the members of its Design for Manufacturability Coalition (DFMC) have unanimously approved the release of the OpenDFM 1.1 standard, an upgrade to version 1.0 which was released in 11/2010.

This is an open, high-level DRC language that can generate popular verification languages with no loss of accuracy or performance. OpenDFM describes verification intent for leading process nodes, including conditional rules and ranges of acceptable values. It leverages a plug-in architecture to automatically generate output decks. Advanced DFM checks are supported by utilizing DFM parameters and attributes defined by the DFMC members. This new version includes:

* ESD (Electro Static Discharge) and Latch Up Checks.
* A complete set Edge Operations and Edge Checks.
* New Targeting Functions: Targeting functions bridge the gap between a layout style that allows only a few, very restricted layout patterns and a style with purely arbitrary layouts. Targeting functions transform database shapes, regardless of their origin and design style, into the on-silicon target shapes that design and manufacturing agree are the reference shapes for silicon.
* Implementations and qualifications by multiple DRC engines.

“We are encouraged by the increasing momentum of the DFMC,” says Mark Mason, director for Design Data Integration at Texas Instruments. "Our beta tests of OpenDFM v1.1 have been successful across multiple EDA supplier platforms, and we are already seeing return on our investment in the OpenDFM standard in the form of interoperability and reuse.”

TI reports that they are planning to use OpenDFM’s DRC standard as the baseline for several of their production flows. “We are currently moving our entire 28 nm Wireless platform DRC infrastructure to the OpenDFM standard, and plan to use it at 20 nm as well,” Mason said. “OpenDFM is already paying off for TI and we hope others will follow soon.”

“Physical verification complexity becomes multifaceted with the move to advanced process nodes. Both the EDA industry and its customers must understand and respond to these challenges,” says Ken Potts, director of marketing, Silicon Realization, at Cadence Design Systems. “Cadence implemented OpenDFM rules on its Physical Verification System, a key Silicon Realization technology. The product combines analog and digital IP and Si2 OpenDFM rules to optimize the increasingly important interface between verification and manufacturing.”

The OpenDFM 1.1 standard is being made immediately available to the public at no charge, at this link: https://www.si2.org/openeda.si2.org/project/showfiles.php?group_id=68. Members of the DFMC also have access to substantial adoption collateral, such as the OpenDFM parser source code, contributed test cases, tutorials, demonstration code, and more.