Method and apparatus for design of integrated circuits
View Patent ↗Methods are apparatuses are disclosed for an electrical apparatus. The electrical apparatus includes one or more integrated circuits designed at least partly with library cells. Various embodiments cover one or more of virtual buses; virtual tap cells; placement primarily for electrical coupling to a well or substrate; placement at a granularity level of electrical coupling to a well or substrate; metal substantially octagonal via structures; free placement according to a minimum drawing resolution of significant features, cell boundary vertices, and routing wires; and cells permitting overlap.
1. An electrical apparatus, comprising:
one or more integrated circuits designed at least partly with one or more virtual tap cells, comprising:
one or more electrical couplings to at least one of: one or more wells and one or more substrates,
wherein at least one electrical coupling of the one or more electrical couplings is positioned entirely outside one or more hierarchies of the one or more virtual tap cells.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the one or more taps is placed physically entirely in one of the one or more virtual tap cells.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the one or more taps is placed physically partly in one of the one or more virtual tap cells.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the one or more taps is placed physically partly in one of the one or more other cells.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one electrical coupling is positioned physically on top of the one or more virtual tap cells.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one electrical coupling is positioned physically between at least two of the one or more virtual tap cells.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one integrated circuit of the one or more integrated circuits is formed by a CMOS process.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one integrated circuit of the one or more integrated circuits is formed by a Bi-CMOS process.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one integrated circuit of the one or more integrated circuits is formed by a Bipolar process.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one integrated circuit of the one or more integrated circuits is formed by a Gallium-Arsenide process.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one integrated circuit of the one or more integrated circuits is formed by a Silicon-on-Insulator process.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one standard cell.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one gate array cell.
14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one analog cell.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one analog mixed signal cell.
16. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one analog and digital cell.
17. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one functional block cell.
18. An electrical apparatus, comprising:
one or more integrated circuits designed at least partly with one or more cells, the one or more cells having one or more ports clipped at an angle.
19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein at least one integrated circuit of the one or more integrated circuits is formed by a CMOS process.
20. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein at least one integrated circuit of the one or more integrated circuits is formed by a Bi-CMOS process.
21. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the integrated circuit of the integrated circuit design is formed by a Bipolar process.
22. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the integrated circuit of the integrated circuit design is formed by a Gallium-Arsenide process.
23. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the integrated circuit of the integrated circuit design is formed by a Silicon-on-Insulator process.
24. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one standard cell.
25. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one gate array cell.
26. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one analog cell.
27. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one analog mixed signal cell.
28. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one analog and digital cell.
29. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the one or more cells includes at least one functional block cell.
30. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the angle is about 45 degrees.