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Reliable buffered clock tree routing algorithm with process variation tolerance. (English) Zbl 1161.68305

When IC technology is scaled into the very deep sub-micron regime, the optical proximity effects (OPE) turn into noticeable in optical lithography. Consequently, clock skew becomes more and more susceptible to process variations, such as OPE. In this paper, we propose a new buffered clock tree routing algorithm to prevent the influence of OPE and process variations to clock skew. Based on the concept of BSF (branch sensitivity factor), our algorithm manages to reduce the skew sensitivity of the clock tree in the topology generation. The worst case skew due to the wire width change has been estimated, and proper buffers are inserted to avoid large capacitance load. Experimental results show that our algorithm can produce a more reliable, process-insensitive clock tree, and control clock skews in their permissible range evidently.

MSC:

68M10 Network design and communication in computer systems
90B50 Management decision making, including multiple objectives
68W05 Nonnumerical algorithms