The Stickizer: a layout to symbolic converter

The Stickizer, a tool for conversion from layout to symbolic, is presented. Thinning, a method borrowed from mathematical morphology is used to achieve Stickizing of polygons. Stickizer´s main features are applicability to Manhattan-geometry and 45 degrees -geometry layouts, extraction of transistors of any shape, strict symbolic/layout equivalence for Manhattan-geometry cells (reversibility of the translation), adaptation of 45 degrees -geometry cells to Manhattan compactors, independence from the technology, hierarchy handling with minimal user intervention, adaptability to a wide range of layout formats and design conventions, and reasonable execution time. It has been used on over 300 cells with sizes up to 6000 transistors and 2 Mbit.<>