Overview

The process of computer-aided design and analysis of on-chip power distribution networks is discussed in this chapter. The necessity for designing and analyzing the integrity of the power supply arises at various stages of the integrated circuit design process as well as during the verification phase. The design and analysis of power distribution networks, however, poses unique challenges and requires different approaches as compared to the design and analysis of logic circuits.

The requirement for analyzing on-chip power distribution networks arises throughout the design process, from the onset of circuit specification to the final verification phase, as discussed in Section 8.1. The primary tasks and difficulties in analyzing the power supply vary at different phases of the design process. At the initial and intermediate design phases, the specification of the power distribution network is incomplete. The primary goal of the power supply analysis process is to guide the general design of the on-chip power distribution network based on information characterizing the power current requirements of the on-chip circuits. The information characterizing the power current requirements is limited, giving rise to the principal difficulty of the analysis process: producing efficient design guidance based on data of limited accuracy. The character of the analysis process gradually changes toward the final phases of the design process. The design of both the power distribution network and the on-chip logic circuits becomes more detailed, making a more accurate analysis possible. The principal goal of the analysis process shifts to verifying the design and identifying...