Synopsys, Inc.
Voltage drop assisted power-grid augmentation

Abstract:

A method for reducing voltage hot spots in a power grid for a circuit design is implemented on a computer system and includes the following steps. The computer system (e.g., an EDA tool) accesses the circuit design. The circuit design includes a power grid that distributes power throughout the circuit design. The computer system identifies spots in the power grid with excessive voltage drops. These will be referred to as hot spots. The power grid is augmented by adding local conductors at the hot spots. These local conductors provide additional electrical paths through the power grid at the hot spots. This in turn reduces the voltage drops at the hot spots.