Design Check for Layout XL Compliance

To check if your design fulfills the compatibility criteria that allow it to fully leverage the connectivity-driven features of Virtuoso Layout Suite XL, run the Connectivity – Check – XL Compliance command.

Alternatively, you can call the lxCheck SKILL function to verify XL-compliance of a layout. To check each unique layout master in the layout hierarchy, use the lxHierCheck SKILL function.

The XL Compliance check evaluates the design for device correspondence with the schematic and reports information about ungenerated and unbound devices, if any. The report is intended to help you resolve any XL-compliance issues beforehand so that you can take full advantage of the numerous connectivity-driven capabilities provided by Layout XL for optimal layout generation.

The XL Compliance report is issued in CIW and you can choose to also display the report in HTML, if the xlComplianceHtmlOpen environment variable is set in accordance.

You can use the following environment variables to control the display of messages issued after the compliance check.

• checkCompType
• checkPermute
• checkRemoveDevice
• ignoreTermsWithNonRoutingLabels

You can also choose to save the logs generated during an XL-compliance check. Use the xlComplianceLogs and xlComplianceLogDir environment variables to control if the generated logs are saved and where.

During an XL-compliance check, the layout is checked for:

• Any labels or text displays in the layout that match the name of an unbound schematic terminal, indicating a possible missing pin in the layout.
  Use the Tools – Create Pins From Labels command to generate the pins from existing labels, or manually add the pins using the Create – Pin command.
• Possible missing permute rules. In addition to checking the layout, the schematic is also checked for any possible missing permute rules.
  • For a device to be considered for a missing permute rule check, the device must have either:
    • Two terminals and an optional bulk terminal, which is usually identified by the name b or B
    • Component type set to PMOS or NMOS
    • Three terminals, S, D, G (or s, d, g) and an optional bulk terminal
    • Three terminals and must contain the substring “mos” (case insensitive) in the cell name
  
  If the check determines that a permute rule is needed, add it in the CDF. For information on how to add a permute rule, see permuteRule Property.
  If a permute rule is not needed, add a fixed permute rule to avoid the issue.
• Missing lxRemoveDevice property.
  • If there is an unbound schematic instance that has two terminals and no layout master exists for this instance, this indicates a possible missing lxRemoveDevice property on the layout instance or in the physConfig.
  
  See lxRemoveDevice Property.
• Possible missing component type.
  • Checks if the master has terminals named S, D, and G. If not, checks if the cell name contains the string “mos” (case insensitive) and if the instance has 3 or 4 terminals.
  
  If the check determines that the component type is missing, use the Configure Physical Hierarchy window to add the component type.
  See Defining a Design-Level Component Type. Alternatively, you can update the LAM file to add the component type.
  See LAM File Component Type Section.
• Pins for layout master.
  • Checks if each terminal has a pin for a layout master.
  
  Use the Create – Pins command to manually add the missing pins.
• Presence of mosaics.
  • Checks if the design includes any mosaics, which can bring some design limitations such as preventing auto abutment, auto permute, and auto mirror.
  
  To convert mosaics instances into regular instances, use the Convert To Instance command available in the shortcut menu of a mosaic. Alternatively, you can right-click the mosaic and select the Convert To Instance command from the shortcut menu.
• Shorts if the devices are extracted through at level 32.
  • If the ?checkDevices argument is set to t, all the masters in the layout are checked for any shorts if the devices are extracted through at level 32.
    See lxCheckLib
  
  To prevent the shorts, define stop layers in the technology

Related Topics

validLayers – Stop Layers Specification

Troubleshooting XL Compliance

validLayers – Stop Layers Specification

Return to top