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From: davidc@vlsisj.VLSI.COM (David Chapman)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Books on IC topology/layout ?
Summary: some, not many
Keywords: IC layout, books
Message-ID: <15274@vlsisj.VLSI.COM>
Date: 26 Jul 89 03:54:08 GMT
References: <15766@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>
Reply-To: davidc@vlsisj.UUCP (David Chapman)
Distribution: na
Organization: VLSI Technology Inc., San Jose, CA
Lines: 71

In article <15766@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> tamj@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Jinglun Tam) writes:
>
>Hi, I am looking for couple of good books on IC layout/topology ---
>	 1. what are the pitfalls 
>	 2. how people usually determine the general layout/topology for IC

(I thought that this might be of general interest...)


I don't know of any books on IC layout itself; usually people learn by
example, experience, or mentor.  Some of the books we use in our VLSI
CAD tools work are:

Introduction to VLSI Systems
Carver Mead & Lynn Conway
Addison-Wesley Publishing
1980
ISBN 0-201-04358-0
(The first book ever, a "classic" as it were.  Highly dated by now; it
doesn't even mention CMOS.  Talks about system design, cell design, and
layout.  Doesn't really cover any in great detail.  Everyone here has a
copy that they read once and then leave on a shelf.)

An Introduction to CAD for VLSI
Stephen Trimberger
Kluwer Academic Publishers
1987
ISBN 0-89838-231-9
(He used to work here; the software he describes is how our tools worked
about 1983 or 1984.  It doesn't really talk about layout styles so much
as the tools you use to manipulate them.)

The Design and Analysis of VLSI Circuits
Lance Glasser and Daniel Dobberpuhl
Addison-Wesley Publishing
1985
ISBN 0-201-12580-3
(Talks about VLSI design from a transistor-level viewpoint, mostly, but
has a chapter subsection on layout and partitioning techniques.  This one
isn't so commonly found in offices.  It talks a lot about transistor 
operation and modelling.)

Principles of CMOS VLSI Design - A Systems Perspective
Neil Weste & Kamran Eshraghian
Addison-Wesley Publishing
1985
ISBN 0-201-08222-5
(Talks a bit about NMOS circuits, but concentrates on CMOS design.  Has a
strong symbolic layout chapter but not a lot on hard-core layout design.
There is one section on hard-core low-level layout, but it is a set of
rules for a single-metal process and as such is a bit too restrictive now.
You may be able to extend the rules to something useful.  Has some pictures 
of sample symbolic layout in the one-layer metal process.  This is probably 
your best choice for a first text.)

You should be able to find most if not all of these books in any University
bookstore, especially at Berkeley or Stanford.  Note that a lot of them are
published by Addison-Wesley; they have a whole series of VLSI books.

I should add that the latter book (Weste & Eshraghian) is one that was used
in my "Introduction to VLSI Systems" class (upper-class/graduate EE), and
that the third book (Glasser & Dobberpuhl) is used in an IC circuit analysis
class, both at Stanford.

Standard disclaimers apply; I mention these books mostly because they are
the ones in my personal library.  I'm sure there are others.
-- 
		David Chapman

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