Yield-Driven, False-Path-Aware Clock Skew Scheduling

Semiconductor technology advances have enabled designers to integrate more functionality in a single chip. As design complexity increases, many new design techniques are developed to optimize chip area and power consumption, as well as performance. Traditionally, yield improvement has been achieved through process improvement. However, in deep-submicron technologies, process variations are difficult to control. As a result, many design decisions significantly affect yield. Therefore, designers should consider yield-related issues during the design phase. This article proposes clock skew scheduling as a tool to address causes of performance-related circuit yield loss. It is an interesting example of how managing circuit-level parameters can have a direct impact on yield metrics and therefore a clear example of the direction of DFM research.