Method and system of expanding set of standard cells which comprise a library

1. A method of expanding a set of standard cells which comprise a library, the library being stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the method comprising:

selecting one ad hoc group amongst ad hoc groups of elementary standard cells which are recurrent resulting in a selected group such that:

the elementary standard cells in the selected group having connections so as to represent a corresponding logic circuit;

each elementary standard cell representing a logic gate;

each ad hoc group, as a whole, having a first number of transistors; or

each ad hoc group, as a whole, having a first number of logic gates; and

the selected group correspondingly providing a selected logical function which is representable correspondingly as a selected Boolean expression;

generating, in correspondence to the selected group, one or more macro standard cells such that:

each macro standard cell, as a whole, having a second number of transistors which is smaller than the first number of transistors of the corresponding ad hoc group; or

each macro standard cell, as a whole, having a second number of logic gates which is different than the first number of logic gates of the corresponding ad hoc group; and

adding the one or more macro standard cells to, and thereby expanding, the set of standard cells; and

wherein at least one aspect of the method is executed by a processor of a computer.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating includes:

configuring each macro standard cell of the one or more macro standard cells to be more efficient, in terms of at least one parameter in a set of parameters, than the selected group.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein:

the set of parameters includes area, power consumption, driving capability, speed, fan-out or speed-power product.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the recurrent ad hoc groups are a result of an analysis of empirical data; and

the empirical data is representative of layout diagrams which have been used to manufacture semiconductor devices.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

each recurrent ad hoc group has a corresponding number (count) of instances in a population; and

the selecting includes:

sorting the recurrent ad hoc groups according to the corresponding counts.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating includes:

performing a Boolean minimization on the selected Boolean expression resulting in a minimized Boolean expression; and

selecting a transistor technology with respect to which the one or more macro standard cells will be configured.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the generating further includes:

representing the minimized Boolean expression with transistors of the selected transistor technology, the representing including at least one of the following:

configuring one or more transistors of the transistors with respect to at least one parameter from a set of parameters; and

arranging one or more transistors of the transistors with respect to the at least one parameter.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein:

the set of parameters includes area, power consumption, driving capability, speed, fan-out or speed-power product.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, after the selecting and before the generating, if the set of standard cells is to be expanded.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

fabricating, based on a layout diagram which includes the one or more of the macro standard cells, at least one of (A) one or more semiconductor masks or (B) at least one component in a layer of an inchoate semiconductor integrated circuit.

11. A system for expanding a set of standard cells which comprise a library, the library being stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the system comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including the library and computer program code for one or more programs;

wherein the at least one memory, the computer program code and the at least one processor are configured to cause the system to:

select one ad hoc group amongst ad hoc groups of elementary standard cells which are recurrent resulting in a selected group such that:

the elementary standard cells in the selected group having connections so as to represent a corresponding logic circuit;

each elementary standard cell representing a logic gate;

each ad hoc group, as a whole, having a first number of transistors;

each ad hoc group, as a whole, having a first number of logic gates; and

the selected group correspondingly providing a selected logical function which is representable correspondingly as a selected Boolean expression;

generate, in correspondence to the selected group, one or more macro standard cells such that:

each macro standard cell, as a whole, having a second number of transistors which is smaller than the first number of transistors of the corresponding ad hoc group; or

each macro standard cell, as a whole, having a second number of logic gates which is different than the first number of logic gates of the corresponding ad hoc group;

configure each macro standard cell of the one or more macro standard cells to be more efficient, in terms of at least one parameter in a set of parameters, than the selected group; and

add the one or more macro standard cells to, and thereby expand, the set of standard cells.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein:

the set of parameters includes area, power consumption, driving capability, speed, fan-out or speed-power product.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein:

the recurrent ad hoc groups are a result of an analysis of empirical data; and

the empirical data is representative of layout diagrams which have been used to manufacture semiconductor devices.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein:

each recurrent ad hoc group has a corresponding number (count) of instances in a population; and

regarding selection, the at least one memory, the computer program code and the at least one processor are further configured to cause the system to:

sort the recurrent ad hoc groups according to the corresponding counts.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein, regarding the generation, the at least one memory, the computer program code and the at least one processor are further configured to cause the system to:

perform a Boolean minimization on the selected Boolean expression resulting in a minimized Boolean expression; and

select a transistor technology with respect to which the one or more macro standard cells will be configured.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein, regarding the generation, the at least one memory, the computer program code and the at least one processor are further configured to cause the system to:

represent the minimized Boolean expression with transistors of the selected transistor technology by:

configuring one or more transistors of the transistors with respect to at least one parameter from a set of parameters; and

arranging one or more transistors of the transistors with respect to the at least one parameter.

17. The system of claim 11 , further comprising at least one of:

a masking facility configured to fabricate one or more semiconductor masks based on a layout diagram which includes the one or more of the macro standard cells; or

a fabricating facility configured to fabricate at least one component in a layer of an inchoate semiconductor integrated circuit based on a layout diagram which includes the one or more of the macro standard cells.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions for carrying out a method of expanding a set of standard cells which comprise a library, the library being stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the method comprising:

selecting one ad hoc group amongst ad hoc groups of elementary standard cells which are recurrent resulting in a selected group such that:

the elementary standard cells in the selected group having connections so as to represent a corresponding logic circuit;

each elementary standard cell representing a logic gate; and

the selected group corresponding providing a selected logical function which is representable correspondingly as a selected Boolean expression;

performing a Boolean minimization on the selected Boolean expression resulting in a minimized Boolean expression;

selecting a transistor technology with respect to which one or more macro standard cells will be configured;

representing the minimized Boolean expression with transistors of the selected transistor technology, the representing including at least one of the following:

configuring one or more transistors of the transistors with respect to at least one parameter from a set of parameters; or

arranging one or more transistors of the transistors with respect to the at least one parameter; and

adding the one or more macro standard cells to, and thereby expanding, the set of standard cells.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein:

the set of parameters includes area, power consumption, driving capability, speed, fan-out or speed-power product.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the method further comprises at least one of:

causing a masking facility to fabricate one or more semiconductor masks based on a layout diagram which includes the one or more of the macro standard cells; or

causing a fabricating facility to fabricate at least one component in a layer of an inchoate semiconductor integrated circuit based on a layout diagram which includes the one or more of the macro standard cells.