SPICE versus STA tools: Challenges and tips for better correlation

Abstract

With shrinking geometries and increasing complexity of the designs, the use of SPICE simulator (SPICE) is a must to perform accurate timing analysis of the critical paths. This also improves the signoff confidence of the design. However, in this process designers may discover a miscorrelation between Static Timing Analysis (STA) and SPICE. There are articles that provide in-depth descriptions of STA-SPICE correlation flows [3]. This paper addresses key challenges and offers useful tips in timing and noise correlation.