TABLE OF CONTENTS Let's follow Bill's thinking as he creates his cell.
"I'll start with all the gate connections," Bill says to himself.
"I should probably hook all these gates together in metal instead of poly, just in case we want to do some revisions. Back when I was doing the I/O pad stuff, I know people liked me to hook gates up in metal. Knowing this is a test chip, we might want to do a metal spin sometime.
"Now, do I need to worry about NAC diodes on this thing? Let's have a look through the manual." Bill refers to the manual to answer his own question.
"Aw, yeah, ok, so I should probably plan to put those in now."
Bill is planning ahead, giving the circuit designer options that he has not asked for, but probably wants. Even though Bill has no direct experience in this type of layout, he is drawing on the experience that he does have. Planning-in the ability for a metal revision is always a good move. Likewise, wiring large poly gates in metal reduces the antenna effect and increases reliability.
Draw from what experience you do have and use it wherever possible. Don't wait to be asked to change something. Even better, ask your designer if he wants these extras. You will build a reputation of being one step ahead.
"I like to hook up the power early.
