Timing Analysis with Compact Variation-Aware Standard Cell Models

A compact variation-aware timing model for standard cells is developed. It incorporates variations in the input waveform and loading, process parameters, and the environment into the cell timing model. PCA is used to form a compact model of a set of waveforms impacted by these sources of variation. Cell characterization involves describing how waveforms are transformed by a cell as a function of these variations. Different versions of factorial designs and Latin Hypercube sampling have been explored to model cells, and their complexity and accuracy is compared. The models have been evaluated by calculating the delay of paths. The results demonstrate improved memory in comparison with table-based static timing analysis at comparable computational cost.