Abstract: Provided is an integrated circuit (IC) device that includes a semiconductor substrate on which electronic components are formed and multiple metal layers on which wires are routed. Formed on the multiple metal layers is a capacitor that includes a first plate formed on a first metal layer and a second plate formed on a second metal layer that is adjacent to the first metal layer. An area in which the first plate and the second plate overlap has a width of at least twice the width of a typical wire on the IC device. Also provided is a technique for supplying power and ground to locations on an integrated circuit (IC) device that has multiple metal layers for routing wires and a substrate for forming electronic components. Initially, the technique identifies an overlap area where two of the multiple metal layers that are adjacent to each other have open space. A plate is then formed in the overlap area of each of the two metal layers so as to construct a capacitor.

Abstract: A method for characterizing cell interconnect delay is disclosed that may be included in a library for use with logic design tools. A method of characterizing cell interconnect delay includes the steps of (a) receiving as inputs a plurality of input ramptimes and a plurality of interconnect lengths for a selected cell, and (b) calculating an output ramptime and a total cell delay including a cell delay and an interconnect delay for each of the plurality of input ramptimes for each of the plurality of interconnect lengths for the selected cell from the inputs.

Abstract: A system and method of optimizing a circuit design. The design may be coded in register transfer language (RTL) code. First the design code representing an integrated circuit design to be optimized is retrieved and sequentially searched for decision constructs. As each decision construct is encountered, it is checked to determine whether both branches drive a common output in response to a common select signal. If so, a determination is made whether the decision construct includes a common arithmetic operation in said both branches, and so, may be optimized. A construct library for a corresponding optimized construct and the selected decision construct is replaced with an optimized construct. After all of the decision constructs are checked, the optimized design code is stored, replacing the original design code. The optimized RTL design code has an identical logic function to the original retrieved RTL code.