Electronic design automation requirements for R2R printing foundry

Abstract

Roll-to-roll (R2R) printed electronic devices have been in the spotlight as a technology that can replace Si-based semiconductors for decades, and research is being actively conducted globally. The printed electronic devices can be applied to a variety of applications, so the demand for printed electronic devices is expected to reach over USD 20.7 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.5 percent. As the new ink materials and printing technologies that are being researched are commercialized, foundry companies of the printed electronics should provide the flow to design circuits using commercial electronic design automation (EDA) tools. This review paper describes the key parameters of the process design kit (PDK), design rules and the device SPICE model. We cover the factors that need to be considered when a fabless company develops circuits using the R2R process, the design methodology from the beginning of the design to the final graphic data stream (GDS) completion stage, and other essential technologies that must be overcome in this process. We describe the full custom design flow for analog integrated circuits (ICs) and automatic placement and routing based design of digital integrated circuits.