A Layout-to-Generator Conversion Framework With Graphical User Interface
for Visual Programming of Analog Layout Generators
Abstract
We propose a visual programming framework that helps a designer easily
convert an existing analog layout into the layout generator. Using a
graphical user interface (GUI), designers can easily load an existing
layout, convert it into the layout generator, and visually verify the
generated layout result. A GUI-supported visual programming method
enables intuitive and straightforward programming to significantly
reduce the required programming skills and coding workload. Through
program blocks, designers can easily describe and compile a layout
generator. Layout-code synchronization updates the program blocks
automatically when layout elements are created, edited, or deleted via
GUI. Expression assistance semi-automatically completes parameterized
expressions of layout geometry through simple GUI manipulation. These
methods greatly reduce the time and workload for development of the
analog layout generator. Using the framework, a complex 20 Gb/s
high-speed receiver was converted to the generator in 20 hours, which is
just 45% of the time required for manual coding of the layout
generator. Other high-speed analog blocks including DCDL, and DCC
circuits were also converted to generators. The generators created
hundreds of different layout designs, all of them passed design rule
verification. The generated layouts achieved almost the same performance
in post-layout simulation as the reference layouts.