Computer-Aided Latchup Analysis of Integrated Circuits

A computer-aided procedure for performing integrated circuit (IC) latchup analysis is presented. The procedure is a result of the merging of a computerized integrated circuit design rule checking sys tem with latchup preventative design rules. The procedure has been applied to an IC which had been previously analyzed by hand. The results were identical; however, the computer-aided approach took only 4 hours to complete, whereas the manual procedure took 80 hours. Plans for additional improvements to the system are discussed.