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Analyzing Results

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This chapter provides information about interpreting the summarized, detailed, and structured reports that TechDB Checker provides after it completes checking a technology database. It includes the following topics:

• Reporting Features
• Viewing the Summary Report
• Viewing the Detailed Report
• Viewing Tools Compliance Results
• Viewing Functions Compliance Results
• Viewing Missing Control Section Items
• Viewing Interconnect Constraints Items
• Viewing Missing Layer Definitions
• Viewing Layer Rules
• Viewing Missing Placement Grids
• Viewing Missing Routing Grids
• Viewing Missing Devices

Reporting Features

After inspecting a technology database, TechDB Checker lets you:

• View summarized and detailed reports and identify information using categories in the reports
• View results using various tabs that are structured according to:
  • Tools
  • Functions
  • Control section
  • Interconnect sections
  • Layer definitions
  • Layer rules
  • Placement grids
  • Routing grids
  • Devices
• Navigate from a high-level report, such as the number of missing constraints, to detailed results, such as the name, group, and other details on the missing constraints
• Print and save reports for later use

Viewing the Summary Report

This section provides information on the following topics.

• Generating the Summary Report
• Summary Report Content

Generating the Summary Report

Using TechDB Checker, you can generate a summary report that includes high-level information on tool enablement in a technology database. TechDB Checker saves the summary report in the run directory.

To generate a summary report:

• Click View Summary.
  TechDB Checker generates the summary report and displays it. The following figure illustrates a summary report.
  
  

Summary Report Content

A summary report contains the following sections:

• Report header information
  Includes the following details:
  • Report date and time
  • PDK library name and timestamp
  • Cadence Virtuoso version
• Tool Enablement Summary
  Lists the supported Cadence tools and their enablement status.
  • Complete indicates that all required constraints for the tool are available in the technology database.
  • Incomplete indicates that at least one required constraint for the tool is missing in the technology database.
  • <waived> indicates that the tool is not selected for investigation. For details on how to waive a tool, see step 4 in “Running TechDB Checker”.
• Tool Requirements Summary
  Provides the tool enablement status, the number of constraints required for tool enablement, and the number of required constraints found in the technology database.
• Layer Summary
  Lists layers, along with their functions, the number of required constraints, and how many of those constraints were found in the technology database.
  In the following example, the cut function of the layer Cont has two required constraints, which were also found in the technology database.
  Example:

  Layer Summary  

  Layer Name  Function        Required Constraints Required Constraints Found

  Bondpad     passivationCut                     2                          2

  Cont        cut                                2                          2

• Layer Summary For Optional Constraints
  Lists layers, along with their function, the number of optional constraints, and how many of those constraints were found in the technology database.
  Example:

  Layer Summary For Optional Constraints 

  Layer Name  Function        Optional Constraints Optional Constraints Found

  Bondpad     passivationCut                    63                          3

  Cont        cut                               63                          6

Viewing the Detailed Report

This section provides information on the following topics.

• Generating the Detailed Report
• Detailed Report Content

Generating the Detailed Report

Using TechDB Checker, you can generate detailed reports that include comprehensive information on tool enablement in a technology database. TechDB Checker saves the detailed report in the run directory.

To generate a detailed report:

• Click View Detailed.
  TechDB Checker generates the detailed report and displays it.

Detailed Report Content

A detailed report includes all the Summary Report Content. Additionally, the detailed report contains the following information:

• Technology File (Techfile) Section Summary
  Includes the number of errors, warnings, and notices on the following sections of the technology database based on result of the analysis that TechDB Checker performs.
  • controls
  • layerDefinitions
  • layerRules
  • viaDefs
  • devices
  • constraintGroups
  • routingGrids
  • placementGrids
    
    TechDB Checker does not report the constraints section of the technology database in the same format as the other sections. This section is reported by constraintGroups.
  Example entry:

  Techfile Section Summary: 

  Section          Errors  Warnings  Notices

  controls              0         0        2

  layerDefinitions      0         0        3

• Techfile Section Details
  Includes error messages, warning messages, and notices for sections in the technology database.
  • Errors—Indicate issues in the technology database that must be corrected for proper operations.
  • Warnings—Indicate conditions that may become an issue, depending on how the technology database or the process technology is used. You should appropriately correct the technology database.
  • Notices—Indicate conditions that do not require any action. However, you should know about these conditions.
  
  Example entry:

  Techfile Section Details: 

  Techfile Section:  controls

      Errors:  none

      Warnings:  none

      Notices:

         Default Grid Snap Resolution set to 0.005.

         Default Spacing measurements are in euclidian.

  
  
  For hierarchical member constraint groups, TechDB Checker displays details using appropriate entries and indentation, as illustrated in the following example:

  Techfile Section: constraintGroups

           Group: virtuosoDefaultExtractorSetup

                    Errors:           none

                    Warnings:         none

                    Notices:

                        userDefined virtuosoDefaultExtractorSetup validLayers does not contain 'diffusion in constraint Group.

• Constraints Report
  Includes the constraints and layer summary in the following formats:
  • Constraints by layers
  • Layers by constraints
  
  Both the constraints report formats include the following:
  • Layer name
  • Constraint name
  • Value of the constraint
  • Constraint group to which the constraint belongs
  • Operator note
  
  Examples:
  • Constraints by Layers
    

    Techfile Constraints by Layer

    Layer      Constraint    Value              Group      Op Note

    Bondpad    minSpacing      8.0              foundry 

    Bondpad    minWidth       55.0              foundry 

    Cont       maxWidth       0.06              foundry 

    Cont       minSpacing     0.06              foundry     exclusive 

                                                foundry  (viaSpacing) 

    Metal1     minSpacing     0.12              foundry     duplicate 

                                   virtuosoDefaultSetup   (minSpacing) 

  • Layers by Constraint
    

    Constraints Report

    Techfile Layers by Constraint

    Constraint      Layer     Value                 Group    Op Note

    maxDensity     Metal1     table               foundry

                   Metal2     table               foundry  

    ..

    minSpacing       Cont      0.14               foundry 

               ont,Resdum       0.2               foundry     

                   Metal1      0.12  virtuosoDefaultSetup

                   Metal1     table               foundry

                   Metal1      0.12               foundry     duplicate 

                                     virtuosoDefaultSetup     (minSpacing)

  The constraints reports help you identify duplicate and mutually exclusive constraints. Duplicate constraints have the same layer name and constraint name. Duplicate constraint definitions are reported in the operator note column.
  Mutually exclusive constraints have different constraint names, with potentially identical operation with same layers. Such constraints are reported along with the name of the other constraints in the operator note column.
  
  TechDB Checker does not check the parameters of each constraint or account for the and and or constraint groups. This may lead to some reported duplicates that might be different definitions.
  The constraint value table indicates multiple values defined within a spacingTable constraint group.
• Trace of the boolean operations for each derived layer
  Example:

  noOverlapLayer1

    and(

      Poly *

      Oxide *

  ;noOverlapLayer1

  noOverlapLayer2

    and(

      Poly *

      Resdum *

  ;noOverlapLayer2

Viewing Tools Compliance Results

The Tools tab of the TechDB Checker form provides information on the missing and found constraints in the technology database for each supported Cadence tool. You can also save the tools compliance results.

Note the following when analyzing the tools compliance results:

• TechDB Checker highlights the following types of constraints:
  • Required mature constraints
  • Optional mature constraints
  • Optional advanced constraints
    
    Mature constraints are those constraints that are applicable to all process nodes. Advanced constraints are those constraints that are applicable to all process nodes smaller than 45nm.
  • Duplicate constraints
  • Exclusive constraints
  • Mutually exclusive constraints
  • Layers purpose pairs
• Exclusive constraints are potentially conflicting constraints, when two or more constraints are defined for the same layer or pair of layers. Mutually exclusive constraints have different names with potentially identical operation with same layers. In the following image, minOppExtension and minExtensionDistance are defined for Metal9 and Via9. This indicates a potential conflict.
  
  
  In the example, it is possible that the deprecation of certain constraints may be the reason for the conflict. The technology database may have two forms of a single constraint for backwards compatibility.
• The required constraints, which TechDB Checker reports, are based on how the tools are typically used.
• The technology database must contain all the required constraints for full tool enablement. However, tools may function correctly even when some required constraints are missing from the technology database.

To view tool compliance results:

1. Click the Tools tab.
   View the high-level tool compliance report. This report includes the compliance status, the number of constraints required, and the number of constraints found in the technology database.
2. Double-click the tool record whose details you want to view.
   If TechDB Checker does not identify any missing, duplicate, or conflicting constraints, it displays an appropriate message.
   If TechDB Checker identifies errors, it displays the Tool form. This form includes the list of constraints that are missing, duplicate, and conflicting in the technology database for the tool, along with the layers.
   The following figure illustrates details of the required constraints that are missing in the technology database for the Abstract Generator tool in Virtuoso Layout Suite XL. You can expand other categories to view details of duplicate and conflicting constraints and missing optional constraints.
   
   
3. Click Show Constraints Found.
   TechDB Checker displays a form with the list of required and optional constraints found in the technology database for the selected tool, along with the layers.
   
   
4. Click Close to close the Tool forms after viewing the results.

To save tool compliance results:

1. Open the relevant Tool form. For details, see the procedure to view tool compliance results.
2. Click Print.
   TechDB Checker displays the results as a text file.
3. Save and print the file as required.

Viewing Functions Compliance Results

The Functions tab of the TechDB Checker form provides information about the required and optional constraints in layers along with their functions for tool enablement. From this tab, you can access information on:

• Missing constraints and the tools that require and support them
• Constraints found in the technology database and the tools that require and support them

You can also save the layer compliance results.

To view layer compliance results after running TechDB Checker:

1. Click the Functions tab.
   View the high-level report, which includes the list of layers, their function, and mask number.
2. Double-click a layer function record.
   If TechDB Checker does not identify any errors, it displays an appropriate message.
   If TechDB Checker identifies errors, it displays the Layer form with the list of missing constraints for the selected layer and the tools that require and support them.
   
   
3. Click Show Constraints Found on the Layer form.
   TechDB Checker displays a form with the list of constraints found in the technology database for the layer, along with the tools that require and support them.
4. Click Close to close the Layer forms after viewing the results.

To save layer compliance results:

1. Open the relevant Layer form. For details, see the procedure to view function compliance results.
2. Click Print.
   TechDB Checker displays the results as a text file.
3. Save and print the file as required.

Viewing Missing Control Section Items

The Controls tab provides information on any missing items in the control section of the technology database, along with the list of tools that require or support them.

To view missing control section items and the tools that require and support them:

• Click the Controls tab.
  
  

Viewing Interconnect Constraints Items

The Interconnect tab provides information on any missing and found interconnect constraint group items in the technology database. It also displays the tools that require and support missing constraints.

To view missing and found interconnect items:

• Click the Interconnect tab.
  
  

Viewing Missing Layer Definitions

The LayerDefs tab provides information on any missing items from the layer definitions section of the technology database. It also displays a trace of the boolean operations for each derived layer.

To view missing layer definition items and boolean operations for derived layers:

• Click the LayerDefs tab.
  
  

Viewing Layer Rules

The Layer Rules tab provides information on layer rule items from the layer rules section of the technology database.

To view layer rule items:

• Click the Layer Rules tab.
  
  

Viewing Missing Placement Grids

The Placement tab provides information on placement grids that are missing from the technology database, along with the list of tools that require and support them.

To view missing placement grids and the tools that require and support them:

• Click the Placement tab.
  
  

Viewing Missing Routing Grids

The Routing tab provides information on routing grids that are missing from the technology database, along with the tools that require and support them.

To view missing routing grids and the tools that require and support them:

• Click the Routing tab.
  
  

Viewing Missing Devices

The Devices tab provides information on devices that are missing from the technology database, along with the list of tools that require and support these them.

To view missing devices and the tools that require and support them:

• Click the Devices tab.
  
  

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