Interview Questions From PD and STA
Interview Questions From PD and STA
Interview Questions From PD and STA
214. If macros are placed at the center, what are the problems we get?
A. Congestion, net lengths will be more due to detouring, timing issues, IR drop.
216. To avoid congestion in between macros, what are the cares we take?
A. proper channel spacing should be provided between macro to macro and the halo should be provided around the macro,
there should not be crisscrossing between macro to macro.
218. If we place soft blockage in between the macros it will allow the buffers and inverters, in that, then how will the
power will get to that cells?
A. Stripe should be added to get the power to those cells.
Some certain timing paths are not real (or not possible) in the actual functional operation of the design. Such paths can
be turned off during STA by setting these as false paths. A false path is ignored by the STA for analysis.
223. At the placement stage what are all the different types of congestion you see? And how you overcome that
congestion
in your design?
A. 1. Using hard blockages in case of congestion due to notches.
2. Using partial blockage, in case of high cell density.
3. Using cell padding, in case of congestion due to pin density.
225. At placement stage, if we have the utilization of 95%, can we move forward and why?
A. No, we should not proceed with that utilization. We have to check the reason for the jump in the utilization number.
227. If the design had violated by 500ps of setup then will you move forward and why?
A. No, we have to fix the setup violation. If we proceed at this stage by the next stage the setup will be violated more there
may
not be chance to fix.
Hold: The minimum time the data input must remain stable just after the active edge of the clock.
Hold time = Arrival Time – Required Time
Required time = Capture clock latency – lib setup – setup uncertainity
Arrival time = launch clock latency + C to Q delay + combo delay
234. If launch clock is 20ns and capture clock is 10ns then where do we check the setup and hold? and vice versa?
A.
237. What is antenna violation? On what basis antenna violation will affect the cell.
A. It is also called “Plasma induced gate effect damage”. It will occur at manufacturing stage. It is a gate damage that can
occur due to charge accumulation on metals and discharge to a gate through gate oxide. These are normally expressed
as an allowable ratio of metal area to gate area greater than allowable area.
239. On what tool and technology, you have worked? Have you ever seen PT and calibre tools?
241. What happens if we have setup and hold violations in our design?
A. setup and hold timings are to be met in order to ensure that data launched from one flop is captured properly at
another and in
accordance to the state machine designed. In other words, no timing violations means that the data launched by one
flip-flop at one clock edge is getting captured by another flip-flop at the desired clock edge. If the setup check is
violated, data will not be captured properly at the next clock edge. Similarly, if hold check is violated, data intended to
get captured at the next edge will get captured at the same edge. Moreover, setup/hold violations can lead to data
getting captured within the setup/hold window which can lead to metastability of the capturing flip-flop. So, it is very
important to have setup and hold requirements met for all the registers in the design and there should not be any
setup/hold violations.
242. What will you do if your design has setup violation and how will you meet setup in such cases where there are
no
margins available?
A. We can meet the setup violations by adding buffers and downsizing the buffers present in the clock path.
247. Both nets are having same drive strength, but voltage is different, capacitance is occurred or not?
A. yes, the capacitance occurs due to different voltage levels.
248. Both nets are having same voltage, but voltage is same, capacitance is occurred or not?
A. No, the capacitance does not occur because the voltage levels are same.
Ans: It is a method of validating the timing performance of the design by checking all
possible paths for timing violations under worstcase conditions.
Read lib
Read netlist
(Link the design and check any unresolved references and black box)
Read SDC
(check_timing(we should not get any unconstrained end points; clock
notfound; No drive Assertion))
Read spef
(report_annotated parasitics)
Report timing
(we need to generate timing reports for all variable paths in the design)
Analysis
(After generating the reports we should analyse all the slack, setup, hold
values)
Ans: The time taken by the data to be stable before the clock edge called Setup.
Ans: The time taken by the data to be stable before the clock edge called hold.
Ans:
FloorPlan:
Ans: 1. clockDesign
2. optdesign-postCTS
3. report_timing
5. Logical Restructuring.
6. Pin Swapping.
7.Cloning.
To fix HOLD:
Ans: : OCV:
Minor changes in delays due to the variations in PVT conditions.As cell delays
are varying we will apply a global derating factor then every cell having min and max delay.
All the cells are applying with same derating factor.
AOCV:
Ans: A duty cycle is the fraction of one period in which a signal or system is active known as
Duty cycle.
Ans:
I
Because of Drain current i.e., d is inversely proportional to Vth if vth increases Id
decreases then process is slow then delay also increases.
283. Draw a clock waveform. What is the time period of a clock with 1GHZ frequency?
Ans:
Ans: Logical connectivity information between combinational and sequential cells known as
Netlist. It contains 1. Module information
2. Hierarichal information
4. port information
5. Instance and net names
Ans: It contains
1. Power Information
2. Timing Information
3. cell Functionality
4. PVT
Ans:
Ans: SETUP:
R.T – A.T
R.T = Clkperiod+Capture clock latency-lib.setup time-uncertainity
HOLD:
A.T - R.T
291. If setup checks and hold checks not done what happened? If it necessary why?
A NMOS transistor is made up of n-type source and drain and a p-type substrate.
When a voltage is applied to the gate, holes in the body (p-type substrate) are driven away
from the gate. This allows forming an n-type channel between the source and the drain and a
current is carried by electrons from source to the drain through an induced n-type channel.
A PMOS transistor is made up of p-type source and drain and a n-type substrate.
When a positive voltage is applied between the source and the gate (negative voltage between
gate and source) a p-type channel is formed between the source and the drain with opposite
polarities. A current is carried by holes from source to the drain through an induced p-type
channel. A high voltage on the gate will cause a PMOS not to conduct, while a low voltage
on the gate will cause it to conduct .
Ans:
By interchanging the positions of the NMOS and PMOS transistors in the NOT circuit can
give a Buffer and this technique uses only two transistors.
(OR)
A BUF gate is essentially constructed from two NOT gates connected in series
NAND: AB Bar
NOT : A Bar
1. Metal shorts:
Metal Jogging (or) change the metal layers.
2. Via shorts:
Changes the vias.
LEC Flow :
Read lib
Comparing
Ans: Available tracks are less than Required tracks known as Congestion.
• The congestion which is occurring at every g-cell in the design is called global
congestion
• Due to this global congestion we are facing the improper routing (it will generate
opens)
• This is mainly occurred due to improper placement of macros and bad floor plan
To reduce the global congestion change the core size(increase area) and fixing the proper
placement area for std cells.
Ans: The voltage transition from one net to another net through coupling capacitor known as
Crosstalk.
1. Crosstalk Noise
2. Crosstalk Delay
Crosstalk Noise:
If aggressor switches victim is constant known as Crosstalk noise.
Crosstalk Delay:
Ans:
A coupling capacitor is a capacitor which is used to couple or link together only the AC
signal from one circuit element to another. The capacitor blocks the DC signal from entering
the second element and, thus, only passes the AC signal.
306. Capacitance Formula? Explain in detail?
Ans: It is a passive element that has ability to store the charge in the form of potential
difference between plates known as capacitor.
/
C= permitivitty of dielectric* Area of plate overlap in sq.mt Distance between 2
plates
1. CASTING
Depending on the metal and its purpose, the metal may simply be melted down and molded to
shape. This process is known as casting. Casting is best for small or intricate parts. Casting
SHOULD NOT be used for products that require high strength, high ductility, or tight
tolerances.
Dies, jewelery, plaques, and machine components all benefit from this simple production process.
2. POWDER PROCESSING
Powder processing treats powdered metals with pressure (pressing) and heat (sintering) to form
different shapes. Powdered metallurgy is known for its precision and output quality -- it keeps tight
tolerances and often requires no secondary fabrications.
However, it's incredibly costly and generally only used for small, complex parts. Powder
processing is NOT appropriate for high-strength applications.
3. FORMING
Metal forming takes a raw metal (usually in sheet metal form) and mechanically manipulates it into a
desired shape. Unlike casting, metal forming allows for higher strength, ductility, and
workability for additional fabrications.
1. DEFORMATION
2. MACHINING
Machining refers to any fabrication method that removes a section of the metal. Machining is also
known as material removal processing. Cutting, shearing, punching, and stamping are all
common types of machining fabrication.
When planning for machining in your supply chain, hardening processes should happen AFTER
machining processes. Hardened metals have a high shear strength and are more difficult to cut.
3. JOINING
Joining, or assembly, is one of the last steps of the metal manufacturing process. This category
includes welding, brazing, bolting, and adhesives. Assembly can be done by machine or by hand.
4. FINISHING
Depending on your material and application, you may also need finishing services. Finishing includes
everything from galvanization to powder coating, and can take place throughout the manufacturing
process.