Computational technology scaling from 32 nm to 28 and 22 nm through systematic layout printability verification

Abstract

In this work, we present a novel application of layout printability verification (LPV) to assess the scalability of physical layout components from 32 nm to 28 and 22 nm with respect to process variability metrics. Starting from the description of a mature LPV flow, the paper illustrates the core methodology for deriving a metric for design scalability. The functional dependency between the scalability metric and the scaling factor can then be modeled to study the scaling robustness of a set of representative layouts. Conversely, quantitative data on scalability limits can be used to determine which design rules can be pushed and which must be relaxed in the transition from 32 to 22 nm.