KLayout 0.29.8 (2024-10-28 63dd591e5) [master]
KLayout Documentation (Qt 5): Main Index » KLayout User Manual » Layout vs. Schematic (LVS) » Layout vs. Schematic (LVS) Overview
Layout vs. Schematic (LVS) Overview
Basic usage of LVS scripts
Starting with version 0.26, KLayout supports LVS as a built-in feature.
LVS is an important step in the verification of a layout: it ensures the
drawn circuit matches the desired schematic.
The basic functionality is simply to analyze the input layout and derive a netlist from this.
Then compare this netlist against a reference netlist (schematic). If both netlist are equivalent,
the circuit is likely to work in the intended fashion.
Beside the layout, a LVS script will also need a schematic netlist. Currently, KLayout
can read SPICE-format netlists. The reader can be configured to some extent, so the hope
is that a useful range of SPICE netlists can be digested.
While the basic idea is simple, the details become pretty complex. This documentation
tries to cover the solutions KLayout offers to implement LVS as well as the constraints
imposed by this process.
KLayout's LVS is integrated into the Macro Development IDE the same way as DRC scripts.
In fact, LVS is an add-on to DRC scripts. All DRC functions are available within LVS
scripts. Netlist extraction is performed in the DRC framework which was given the ability
to recognize devices and connections and turn them into a netlist. Although DRC does not
really benefit from these extensions, they are still useful for implementing Antenna checks
for example.
As it happens, the majority of features required for LVS is documented in the
DRC Reference, while the few add-ons required specifically for LVS
are documented in LVS Reference.
LVS scripts are created, edited and debugged in the Macro Editor IDE. They are managed
in the "LVS" tab.
For more details about the IDE, see About Macro Development. For
an introduction about how to work with DRC scripts see Design Rule Checks (DRC) Basics.
LVS scripts carry the ".lylvs" extension for the XML form (in analogy to ".lydrc" for DRC) and
".lvs" for the plain text form (same as ".drc"). Like DRC scripts, LVS scripts can be
executed standalone in batch mode like DRC scripts. See "Using KLayout as a standalone DRC engine"
in Design Rule Checks (DRC) Basics.
KLayout's LVS implementation
The LVS implementation inside KLayout is designed to be highly flexible in terms of connectivity,
device recognition and input/output channels. Here are some highlights:
- Agnostic approach: KLayout tries to make as few assumptions as possible.
It does not require labels (although they are helpful), a specific hierarchy, specific
cell names or specific geometries. Netlist extraction is done purely from the polygons
of the layout. Labels and the cell hierarchy add merely useful hints which simplify debugging
and pin assignment, but no strict requirement.
- Hierarchical analysis: KLayout got a hierarchical layout processing engine
to support hierarchical LVS. Hierarchical processing means that boolean operations happen inside
the local cell environment as far as possible. As a consequence, devices are recognized
inside their layout cell and layout cells are turned into respective subcircuits in the
netlist. The netlist compare will benefit as it is able follow the circuit hierarchy.
This is more efficient and gives better debugging information in case of mismatches.
As a positive side effect of hierarchical layout processing the runtimes for some boolean and
other operations is significantly reduced in most cases.
- Hierarchically stable: KLayout won't modify the layout's hierarchy nor
will it introduce variants - at least for boolean and some other operations.
This way, matching between layout and schematic hierarchy
is maintained even after hierarchical DRC operations.
Variants are introduced only for some anisotropic operations, the grid snap method
and some other features which require differentiation of cells in terms of location
and orientation.
- Flexible engine: The netlist formation engine is highly flexible with respect
to device recognition and connectivity extraction. First, almost all DRC features can
be used to derive intermediate layers for device formation and connectivity extraction.
Second, the device recognition can be scripted to implement custom device extractors.
Five built-in device extractors are available for MOS and bipolar transistors, resistors, capacitors
and diodes.
- Flexible I/O: Netlists are KLayout object trees and their components (nets, devices,
circuits, subcircuits ...) are fully mapped to script objects (for the main class see
Netlist in the API documentation).
Netlists can therefore be analyzed and manipulated within LVS scripts or in other
contexts. It should be possible to fully script readers and writers for custom formats.
Netlists plus the corresponding layout elements (sometimes called "annotated layout") can
be persisted in a KLayout-specific, yet open format. SPICE format is available to read and
write pure netlist information. The SPICE reader and writer is customizable
through delegate classes which allow tailoring of the way devices are read and written.
- User interface integration: KLayout offers a browser for the netlist
extraction results and LVS reports (cross-reference, errors).
Terminology
KLayout employs a specific terminology which is explained here:
- Circuit: A graph of connected elements as there are: devices, pins
and subcircuits. The nodes of the graph are the nets connecting at least two
elements.
If derived from a layout, a circuit corresponds to
a specific layout cell.
- Abstract circuits: Abstract circuits are circuits which are
cleared from their inner structure. Such circuits don't have nets and define
pins only. Abstract circuits are basically "black boxes" and LVS is required
to consider their inner structure as "don't care". Abstract circuits are useful
to reduce the netlist complexity by taking out big IP blocks verified separately
(e.g. RAM blocks).
- Pin: A point at which a circuit makes a connection to the outside.
Circuits can embed other circuits as "subcircuits". Nets connecting to the
pins of these subcircuits will propagate into the subcircuit and connect
further elements there. Pins are usually attached to one net - in some cases,
pins can be unattached (circuits abstracts).
Pins can be named. Upon extraction, the pin name
is derived from the name of the net attached to the pin.
- Subcircuit: A circuit embedded into another circuit. One circuit
can be used multiple times, hence many subcircuits can reference the same
circuit. If derived from a layout, a subcircuit corresponds to a specific
cell instance.
- Device: A device is a n-terminal entity describing an atomic functional
unit. Devices are passive devices (resistors, capacitors) or active devices
such as transistors.
- Device class: A device class is a type of device. Device classes
are of a certain kind and there can be multiple classes per type. For example
for MOS transistors, the kind is "MOS4" (a four-terminal MOS transistor) and
there is usually "NMOS" and "PMOS" classes at least in a CMOS process.
A device class typically corresponds to a model in SPICE.
- Device extraction: Device extraction is the process of detecting
devices and forming links between conductive areas and the device bodies. These
links will eventually form the device terminals.
- Device combination: Device combination is the process of forming
single devices from combinations of multiple devices of the same class.
For example, serial resistors
can be combined into one. More importantly, parallel MOS transistors
("fingered" transistors) are combined into a single device.
Device combination is a step explicitly requested in the LVS script.
- Terminal: A "terminal" is a pin of a device. Terminals are typically
named after their function (e.g. "G" for the gate of a MOS transistor).
- Connectivity: The connectivity is a description of conductive regions
in the technology stack. A layer has intra-layer and intra-layer connectivity:
"Intra-layer connectivity" means that polygons on the same layer touching other
polygons form a connected - i.e. conductive - region. "Inter-layer connectivity" means
that two layers form a connection where their polygons overlap. The sum of these
rules forms the "connectivity graph".
- Netlist: A hierarchical structure of circuits and subcircuits.
A netlist typically has a top circuit from which other circuits are called
through subcircuits.
- Extracted netlist: The extracted netlist is the netlist derived
from the layout. Sometimes, "extracted netlist" describes the netlist enriched
with parasitic elements such as resistors and capacitors derived from the
wire geometries. In the context of KLayout's LVS, "extracted netlist" is the
pure connectivity without parasitic elements.
- Schematic: The "schematic" is a netlist taken as reference for LVS.
The "schematic" is thought of the "drawn" netlist that is turned into a layout
by the physical implementation process. In LVS, the layout is turned back into
the "extracted netlist" which is compared to the schematic.
- Annotated layout, Net geometry: The collection of polygons belonging to the
individual nets. Each net inside a circuit is represented by a bunch of polygons
representing the original wire geometry and the device terminals.
As nets can propagate to subcircuits through pins, nets and therefore annotated
layout carries a per-net hierarchy. The per-net hierarchy consists of the
subcircuits attached to one net and the nets within these subcircuits that
connect to the outer net. Subcircuits can instantiate other subcircuits, so the
hierarchy may extend over many levels.
- Layout to netlist database (L2N DB): This is a data structure combining the
information from the extracted netlist and the annotated layout into a single
entity. The L2N database can be used to visualize nets, probe nets from known locations
and perform other analysis and manipulation steps. An API for handling L2N databases
is available.
- Cross reference: The cross reference is a list of matching objects
from the two netlists involved in a LVS netlist compare ("pairing"). The cross-reference also
lists non-matching items and inexact pairs. "Inexact pairs" are pairs of objects which do
not match precisely, but still are likely to be paired. The cross reference also
keeps track of the compare status - i.e. whether the netlists match and if not, where
a mismatch originates from.
- LVS database: The "LVS database" is the combination of L2N database, the schematic
netlist and the cross-reference. It's a complete image of the LVS results.
An API is available to access the elements of the LVS database.
- Labels: "Labels" are text objects drawn in a layout to mark certain locations
on certain layers with a text. Typically, labels are used to assign net names - if included
in the connectivity, nets formed from such labels get a name according to the text string
of the label.