TWI760574B - Simulation automation method - Google Patents

Abstract

A simulation automation method for a board file is provided. The simulation automation method includes: obtaining a plurality of parameters from a stackup table and a board file related to a printed circuit board by a syntax conversion module; converting each parameter by the syntax conversion module into an automatic syntax that is identifiable by the simulation software; and importing the converted automatic syntax in the simulation software to simulate through the simulation software.

Description

Simulate automated methods

The present invention relates to a signal simulation method, and in particular to a simulation automation method.

Printed circuit boards are often used in electronic products, and signal simulation is one of the tools used for debugging and verification in electronic product development. Generally speaking, when engineers want to use simulation software to analyze the signal quality of such electronic products, they need to manually set the thickness of each layer of the printed circuit board, material properties, metal etching angle and other parameters, and manually set the materials and holes of the via holes. Parameters such as wall plating thickness.

Due to the long time for signal simulation, it needs to be performed by a signal simulation engineer with simulation experience. However, since the number of licenses for simulation software is limited, if the operation time is too long, the time of the next simulation will be delayed. Therefore, if the operation setting time can be shortened, the use efficiency of the simulation software can be improved, and the simulation time can be shortened.

The invention provides a simulation automation method, which can effectively reduce the signal simulation time required for product development.

The simulation automation method of the present invention is used for computer-executable simulation software, and the simulation automation method includes: obtaining a plurality of parameters from the stack-up table and layout design diagram of the printed circuit board through a syntax conversion module; Each parameter is converted into an automation syntax that can be recognized by the simulation software; and the converted automation syntax is inserted into the simulation software, so as to perform simulation through the simulation software.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the simulation automation method further includes: reading the layout design drawing through the layout drawing reading module, and inputting the parameters obtained from the layout design drawing to the syntax conversion module.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the parameters include a plurality of stacking parameters and a plurality of layout parameters. The step of obtaining the parameters from the stacking table and the layout design drawing through the syntax conversion module includes: obtaining the stacking parameters from the stacking table; and obtaining the layout parameters from the layout design drawing.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the stacking parameters at least include: the number of circuit board layers, the type of circuit boards, the thickness of each dielectric layer, the dielectric constant of each dielectric layer, and the dissipation of each dielectric layer factor and the thickness of each metal layer. The layout parameters include at least a plurality of layer names, a plurality of via hole names, and a plurality of via hole types.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the step of obtaining the parameters from the stack-up table and the layout design diagram through the syntax conversion module further includes: calculating the respective dielectrics of the plurality of metal layers according to the stacking relationship recorded in the stack-up table Constants, dissipation factor, and etch angle.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the simulation automation method further includes: converting the thickness unit through a syntax conversion module to conform to the format of the simulation software.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the step of converting each parameter into an automatic syntax identifiable by the simulation software by the syntax conversion module includes: converting the stacking parameter into an automatic syntax identifiable by the simulation software in combination with the layer name automation grammar.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the simulation automation method further includes: the syntax conversion module sets a plurality of via parameters according to the via hole name and the via hole type.

Based on the above, the present invention proposes an automated solution for stack setting, which is expected to solve the problem of manual setting for stack setting, and lay a foundation for full automation of signal simulation.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the following embodiments are given and described in detail with the accompanying drawings as follows.

FIG. 1 is a system architecture diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the system architecture for implementing the simulation automation method includes a stackup table 110 , a board file 120 , a syntax conversion module 130 , a layout diagram reading module 140 and a simulation software 150 .

This embodiment is implemented by using an electronic device with computing capability. The electronic device includes a processor, a storage device and other equipment. A plurality of modules are stored in the storage device, and the processor drives the modules to implement the simulation automation method.

The processor may adopt a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), a graphics processing unit (Graphic Processing Unit, GPU), a physical processing unit (Physics Processing Unit, PPU), a programmable microprocessor (Microprocessor) , embedded control chip, digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), special application integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuits, ASIC) or other similar devices to achieve. The storage device is any type of fixed or removable random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), flash memory (Flash memory), security Secure Digital Memory Card (SD), hard disk or other similar device or a combination of these devices.

The stackup table 110 is designed based on the difference between the layout plan 120 and the simulation software 150 . The stack-up parameters of the printed circuit board are recorded in the stack-up table 110 . The stacking parameters include at least: the number of circuit board layers, the type of circuit board, the respective thicknesses of multiple dielectric layers, the dielectric constant (DK) of each dielectric layer, and the dissipation factor (Dissipation Factor, DF) of each dielectric layer ) and the respective thicknesses of the multiple metal layers.

In this embodiment, the stackup table 110 is designed in a commonly used file format, so it is not limited to fill in the stacking parameters by a signal simulation engineer, but can be convenient for general engineers to fill in the stacking parameters. For example, the overlay table 110 is designed in a spreadsheet such as Excel. Accordingly, a general user can input the stacking parameters of the printed circuit board in the stacking table 110 . The stacking parameters that need to be manually set in the simulation software 150 are filled in the stacking table 110 by the user. Here, some of the stacking parameters can be automatically calculated using functions in the stacking table 110, or calculated by an external program.

The layout plan 120 describes a plurality of layout parameters. These layout parameters include at least a plurality of layer names, a plurality of via hole names, and a plurality of via hole types. The layout drawing reading module 140 can read the information of the layout design drawing 120, compare whether the information on the number of layers is correct, and read the names of each layer.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a simulation automation method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , in step S205 , a plurality of parameters are obtained from the stacking table 110 and the layout design diagram 120 through the syntax conversion module 130 . Here, the parameters include multiple stacking parameters and multiple layout parameters. The layout design map 120 is read through the layout map reading module 140 , and the layout parameters obtained from the layout design map 120 are input to the syntax conversion module 130 .

In step S210 , each parameter is converted into an automatic grammar that can be recognized by the simulation software 150 by the grammar conversion module 130 . Afterwards, in step S215 , the converted automation grammar is embedded into the simulation software 150 , so that simulation is performed by the simulation software 150 .

Specifically, the grammar conversion module 130 includes the correspondence between the automatic grammars supported by the simulation software. After the syntax conversion module 130 reads the stacking parameters in the stack-up table 110 and obtains a plurality of layout parameters from the layout map reading module 140, it converts the parameters (stacking parameters and layout parameters) through the corresponding relationship into the automation syntax of the simulation software 150 , so as to insert the converted automation syntax into the simulation software 150 to automatically set various parameters.

For example, the build-up table 110 provides a user interface for the user to select or directly input the appropriate number of circuit board layers. In addition, the user interface of the stacking table 110 further provides a plurality of circuit board types (eg, Type 1 to Type 4) for the user to select. Afterwards, the build-up table 110 can automatically generate a table with the name and type of each layer based on the selected number of layers of the circuit board and the type of the circuit board, so that the user can start to fill in the thickness, The dielectric constant of the electrical layer, the dissipation factor of the dielectric layer, and other stacking parameters.

The following description is based on the simulation of a printed circuit board with 4 layers and the type of circuit board is Type 3.

Table 1

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the stacking table 110 records that the number of layers of the circuit board is 4, the type of the circuit board is Type 3, and the thickness, dielectric constant (DK), and dissipation factor (DF) of each layer as shown in Table 1 are recorded. and other stacking parameters.

After selecting the number of circuit board layers (4 layers) and the type of circuit board (Type 3), referring to Table 1, the stack-up table 110 will automatically generate the layer name and type two based on the selected number of circuit board layers and circuit board type. content of a field. In the layer name column, L1 to L4 are metal layers, and "Solder Mask 1", "Solder Mask 2", and "Medium 1" to "Medium 3" are dielectric layers. In the category field, "DIELECTRIC" represents the medium, and "CONDUCTOR" represents the conductor. The contents of the three fields of thickness, dielectric constant and dissipation factor are input by the user.

Generally, when inputting the parameters of each layer, the dielectric constant and dissipation factor of the medium of the metal layers L1 to L4 are not input. Here, other stacking parameters can be automatically calculated by the stacking table 110 or external software using the known stacking parameters. For example, according to the stacking relationship described in the stacking table 110 , the dielectric constant, dissipation factor, and etching angle of the medium of each of the plurality of metal layers L1 to L4 are calculated.

The calculation formulas of the dielectric constants, dissipation factors and etching angles of the respective mediums of the metal layers L1 to L4 are described below with an example.

When the printed circuit board is symmetrically stacked, the number of layers is N (N is a multiple of 2) and the type of circuit board is Type 3, assuming that the etching angle is 75 degrees or 105 degrees, the metal layer i-th layer (1≤i The judging formula for the etching angle A(i) of ≤N) is as follows: A(i)=75, i≤1; A(i)=75, 1＜i＜N & mod(N/2-i, 2)=0; A(i)=105, 1<i<N & mod(N/2-i, 2)=1; A(i)=105, i≥N.

When the printed circuit board is symmetrically stacked, the number of layers is N (N is a multiple of 2), and the type of circuit board is Type 3, DK(i-0.5) and DF(i-0.5) represent the i-th metal layer respectively. The dielectric constant and scattering factor of the dielectric layer between -1 layer and the i-th layer (1≤i≤N); DK(i+0.5) and DF(i+0.5) respectively represent the metal layer i-th layer to The dielectric constant and dispersion factor of the dielectric layer of the i+1th layer are represented by DK(i) and DF(i), respectively, to represent the dielectric constant and dispersion factor of the i-th metal layer. The judgment formula is as follows : DK(i)=DK(i-0.5), i≤1; DF(i)=DF(i-0.5), i≤1; DK(i)=DK(i-0.5), 1＜i＜N &mod(N/2-i,2)=0; DF(i)=DF(i-0.5), 1＜i＜N &mod(N/2-i,2)=0; DK(i)= DK(i+0.5), 1＜i＜N &mod(N/2-i,2)=1; DF(i)=DF(i+0.5), 1＜i＜N & mod(N/2- i,2)=1; DK(i)=DK(i+0.5), i≥N; DF(i)=DF(i+0.5), i≥N.

When the printed circuit board is symmetrically stacked, the number of layers is N (N is a multiple of 2), the type of circuit board is Type 4 and the stacking method is m-n-m (for example, 1-n-1), it is assumed that the etching angle of the metal layer is 75 degrees or 105 degrees, then the judgment formula of the etching angle A(i) of the i-th metal layer (1≤i≤N) is as follows: A(i)=75, i≤(1+m); A(i)=75, (1+m)＜i＜(N-m) &mod(N/2-i,2)=0; A(i)=105, (1+m)＜i＜(N-m) &mod(N/2-i,2)=1; A(i)=105, i≥(N-m).

Same as above, the judgment formulas for the dielectric constant DK(i) and the scatter factor DF(i) of the i-th metal layer are as follows: DK(i)=DK(i-0.5), i≤(1+m) ; DF(i)=DF(i-0.5), i≤(1+m); DK(i)=DK(i-0.5), (1+m)＜i＜(N-m) & mod(N/2 -i,2)=0; DF(i)=DF(i-0.5), (1+m)<i<(N-m) &mod(N/2-i,2)=0; DK(i)= DK(i+0.5), (1+m)＜i＜(N-m) &mod(N/2-i,2)=1; DF(i)=DF(i+0.5), (1+m)＜ i＜(N-m) &mod(N/2-i,2)=1; DK(i)=DK(i+0.5), i≥(N-m); DF(i)=DF(i+0.5), i ≥(N-m).

In the case that the printed circuit board is symmetrically stacked, the number of layers is N (N is a multiple of 2) and any type of circuit board, assuming that the metal etching angle is 75 degrees or 105 degrees, then the metal layer i-th layer (1≤i≤ The judging formula of the etching angle A(i) of N) is as follows: A(i)=75, i≤(N/2); A(i)=105, i≥(N/2+1).

Same as above, the judging formulas for the dielectric constant DK(i) and the scatter factor DF(i) of the i-th metal layer are as follows: DK(i)=DK(i-0.5), i≤(N/2) ; DF(i)=DF(i-0.5), i≤(N/2); DK(i)=DK(i+0.5), i≥(N/2+1); DF(i)=DF( i+0.5), i≥(N/2+1).

Taking Table 1 as an example, the dielectric constant, dissipation factor and etching angle of the four metal layers L1 to L4 shown in Table 2 can be calculated through the formula. In Table 1, L1 to L4 represent the first to fourth metal layers, respectively. For example, the material field in Table 2 can be automatically generated by the build-up table 110 according to the type of the circuit board.

Table 2

The names of the layers of the layout design diagram 120 have a certain corresponding relationship with the names of the layers of the layout design diagram after the simulation software 150 has been converted, but they are not completely consistent. In order to be able to perform automatic setting of various parameters in the simulation software 150, the syntax conversion module 130 must first understand the corresponding relationship, and accordingly, the name of each layer provided by the module 140 can be read by reading the layout drawing. , which is converted into the name actually set in the simulation software 150, and is matched with the parameters of each layer and the corresponding relationship of the automation syntax, so that the automation parameter setting of each layer can be performed.

3A-3F are schematic diagrams of partial code of an automation grammar according to an embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is only one implementation manner, and is not limited thereto. The code 310 is used to set the layer name of each layer. The name following the symbol "$" is the layer name. The layer names "TOP", "VCC", "IN1" and "BOTTOM" of the metal layer are obtained by the syntax conversion module 130 from the layout design diagram 120, and the layer names of the dielectric layer are "medium40", "medium42", " "medium44", "medium46", and "medium48" are names automatically generated by the simulation software 150. Here, the metal layers "TOP", "VCC", "IN1" and "BOTTOM" correspond to L1 to L4 in Table 2, respectively. The medium layers "medium40", "medium42", "medium44", "medium46", and "medium48" correspond to "Solder Mask 1", "Medium 1" to "Medium 3", and "Solder Mask 2" in Table 2, respectively.

The code 320 is used to set the dielectric constant (DK) and dissipation factor (DF) of each layer. Taking the first line of the code 320 as an example, it is used to set the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer "medium40" to 4.5 and the dissipation factor to be 0.017. Others are analogous.

The code 330 is used to set the material of the metal layer. In this embodiment, the simulation software 150 directly sets the material of the metal layers "TOP", "VCC", "IN1" and "BOTTOM" as copper. However, this is only an example, and the metal can be changed according to requirements. layer material.

Code 340 is used to set the thickness of each layer. Here, it is assumed that the thickness unit used by the simulation software 150 is meters. Since the thickness unit used in the stacking table 110 (as shown in Table 1 ) is mil, the unit of thickness can be converted by the syntax conversion module 130 to conform to the format of the simulation software 150 . That is, the unit conversion can be performed using the following conversion formula: h mil=(h*2.54*10-5) meter.

The program code 350 is used to set the etching angles of the metal layers "TOP", "VCC", "IN1" and "BOTTOM". Here, the etching angles 75 and 105 are only one of the examples, and in other embodiments, the etching can also be The angle is set to 70, 110 or some other angle.

The code 360 is used to set the related information of the via hole. From the layout design drawing 120 , the name of the via hole (for example, “VIA20D10A28”), the type of the via hole (for example, THOUGH) can be obtained, and the information of whether the via hole is turned on or not can be obtained. The simulation software 150 sets the material of the via hole and the metallization thickness of the via hole according to the information.

In this embodiment, the layout diagram reading module 140 is used to read the information of the layout design diagram 120, and the syntax conversion module 130 is used to read the information in the stackup table 110 and the layout design diagram 120, and convert them into simulation software according to the corresponding relationship The automation program 150 is used to automatically set various parameters of the stack structure and the via hole in the simulation software 150 .

To sum up, the present invention can effectively reduce the signal simulation time required in product development, and can also avoid simulation software manufacturers or chip manufacturers from introducing some tools to simplify the simulation process of competitors.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above by the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, The protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the appended patent application.

110: Stacking table 120: Layout drawing design drawing 130: Syntax conversion module 140: Layout drawing reading module 150: Simulation software 310～360: Code S205～S215: Simulate each step of the automation method

FIG. 1 is a system architecture diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a simulation automation method according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3A-3F are schematic diagrams of partial code of an automation grammar according to an embodiment of the present invention.

S205~S215: Simulate the steps of the automated method

Claims (6)

A simulation automation method for a computer-executable simulation software, the simulation automation method comprising: obtaining a plurality of parameters from a stack of configuration tables and a layout design diagram of a printed circuit board through a syntax conversion module, wherein the The parameters include a plurality of stacking parameters and a plurality of layout parameters, and the steps of obtaining the parameters from the stack-up table and the layout design drawing through the syntax conversion module include: obtaining the stacking parameters from the stack-up table; obtaining the stacking parameters from the layout The layout parameters are obtained from the design drawing; and according to the stacking relationship recorded in the stacking table, the respective dielectric constants, dissipation factors and etching angles of the plurality of metal layers are calculated; each of the parameters is converted by the syntax conversion module Converting into an automation grammar that can be recognized by the simulation software; and inserting the converted automation grammar into the simulation software, so as to perform simulation through the simulation software. The simulation automation method as described in item 1 of the claimed scope further comprises: reading the layout drawing through a layout drawing reading module, and inputting the parameters obtained from the layout drawing into the syntax conversion module. The simulation automation method as described in claim 1, wherein the stacking parameters at least include: a number of circuit board layers, a circuit board type, thicknesses of each of the plurality of dielectric layers, each of the dielectric layers The dielectric constant of , the dissipation factor of each of the dielectric layers, and the thickness of each of the plurality of metal layers; The layout parameters include at least a plurality of layer names, a plurality of via hole names, and a plurality of via hole types. The simulation automation method described in item 3 of the claimed scope further comprises: converting the thickness units to conform to the format of the simulation software through the syntax conversion module. The simulation automation method as described in claim 3, wherein the step of converting each of the parameters into an automation grammar recognizable by the simulation software by the syntax conversion module comprises: matching the layer names with the These stacking parameters are converted to an automation syntax that the simulation software recognizes. The simulation automation method described in claim 3 of the claimed scope further includes: the syntax conversion module sets a plurality of via parameters according to the via hole names and the via hole types.

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