BACKGROUND
An experienced radio design group was brought on board by a leading semiconductor company to develop their next node Bluetooth low energy products
The new design required jumping 3 nodes to a then leading-edge technology node, an area where the radio team, and the company as a whole, had a very limited competence or knowledge
Requirements & Challenges
Requirements & Challenges- IC Mask Design was tasked with upskilling the radio team in designing radios for layout on the leading edge node, including to:
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- Provide guidance on optimizing the design for layout
- Minimize tuning cycles
- Produce silicon with low risk of re-spin or manufacturing defect
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- IC Mask Design was also tasked with the layout of the transceiver on the new node
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Outcome
Outcome- Developed a layout methodology (including a custom PDK) that addressed many issues encountered in layout on the targeted node (i.e. density and DFM), ensuring a smooth efficient layout process
- The original radio had been produced over 100 million times, including variants
- The layout methodology and custom design kit have been propagated through the whole semiconductor company
- Continued assistance and layout support to the team and company as a whole