This book describes a new type of computer aided VLSI design tool, called a VLSI System Planning, that is meant to aid designers dur ing the early, or conceptual, state of design. During this stage of design, the objective is to define a general design plan, or approach, that is likely to result in an efficient implementation satisfying the initial specifications, or to determine that the initial specifications are not realizable. A design plan is a collection of high level design decisions. As an example, the conceptual design of digital filters involves choosing the type of algorithm to...

One of the keys to success in the IC industry is getting a new product to market in a timely fashion and being able to produce that product with sufficient yield to be profitable. There are two ways to increase yield: by improving the control of the manufacturing process and by designing the process and the circuits in such a way as to minimize the effect of the inherent variations of the process on performance. The latter is typically referred to as "design for manufacture" or "statistical design." As device sizes continue to shrink, the effects of the inherent fluctuations in the IC...