The Interoperable PCell Library (IPL) Alliance

In April, 2007, five leading EDA companies announced an industry collaboration to promote interoperable PCell libraries (IPLs) on the OpenAccess database, plus the availability of a proof-of-concept library for validation by all interested parties. For the first time in semiconductor industry history, an integrated circuit designer will be able to use the same PCell libraries in tools from multiple vendors, plus with OpenAccess-based tools from other vendors or universities, including in-house tools.

An IPL has many advantages to semiconductor companies, foundries and EDA vendors. Semiconductor companies will be able to use one common PCell library providing advanced functionality across multiple processes, reducing development and support costs while increasing layout flexibility. Foundries will be able to reduce their PDK development costs while dramatically expanding the number of tools they support. EDA vendors will also be able to reduce PDK development costs, while supporting a wider range of foundry partners.

About the Alliance

The current members of the IPL Alliance include:

• Applied Wave Research (AWR)
• Ciranova
• Magma
• Helic
• Jedat
• MicroMagic
• Pulsic
• Silicon Navigator
• Springsoft
• Syncira
• Synopsys
• Virage Logic
• TSMC

All participants support the OpenAccess database and are members of the Silicon Integration Initiative (Si2). To date, the alliance has achieved three milestones:

• Synchronization on version 2.2.6 of the OpenAccess database
• Selection of PyCell Studio as the mechanism for developing and enabling
  interoperable PCells
• Development, validation and release of a proof-of-concept library

All interested foundries, EDA vendors and semiconductor companies are invited to participate in the IPL Alliance. The alliance web site can be found at www.IPLNOW.com.

About the Proof-of-Concept Library

IPL Alliance members have produced a high-quality proof-of-concept library using a generic 0.13um process. The purpose of this library is to demonstrate that the IPL mechanism works, and to provide a starting point for other companies to start building their own interoperable libraries. The proof-of-concept library, available here for download includes:

• A high quality OpenAccess PCell library with many standard and complex devices (in the directory $CNI_ROOT/quickstart/IPL_cni130)
• Source code for all included PCells (in the directory $CNI_ROOT/quickstart/IPL_Python_code)
• Ciranova OpenAccess plug-in
• A generic 0.13um technology database for use with PyCell Studio

The proof-of-concept library has been verified using tools from all IPL Alliance member companies using Ciranova's OpenAccess testing ecosystem. This ecosystem includes tools from all five participating vendors plus test cases. As a final check, the test cases are streamed out to GDSII and checked for design rule correctness using Mentor Calibre nmDRC. In addition, each member company has individually exercised the IPL mechanism using their own tools.

To see screenshots of this layouts created by the PCells in this library, click here.

How to Get the Proof-of-Concept Library & Source Code

1. Download PyCell Studio
2. Install the software using these instructions
3. Find the IPL generic 130nm library in the directory $CNI_ROOT/quickstart/IPL_cni130
4. Explore the source code in the directory $CNI_ROOT/quickstart/IPL_Python_code

For More Information

• To explore the proof-of-concept IPL library and source code, download PyCell Studio here.
• To learn more about the IPL Alliance, or to join, visit the IPLNOW web site at www.IPLNOW.com