Patents by Inventor Michel Cote

Michel Cote has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8255840
    Abstract: Design-specific attributes of a circuit (such as timing, power, electro-migration, and signal integrity) are used to automatically identify one or more regions of one or more layers in a layout of the circuit. The automatically identified regions may be provided to a manufacturing tool in GDSII by use of overlapping shapes in, or alternatively by moving existing shapes to, a different layer/datatype pair. For example, information about the automatically identified regions may be stored using a conventional datatype (e.g. value 0) with a new layer, or alternatively using a conventional layer (e.g. metal 3) with a new datatype (e.g. value 1), depending on the embodiment. The automatically identified regions contain cells and/or features (e.g. groups of shapes and/or individual shapes) whose tolerance in silicon (to be fabricated) is automatically changed from default, based on the design-specific attribute(s) and sensitivity thereto, expressed as design intent by a circuit designer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Michel Cote, Michael Rieger, Philippe Hurat, Robert Lugg, Jeff Mayhew
  • Publication number: 20090055788
    Abstract: Design-specific attributes of a circuit (such as timing, power, electro-migration, and signal integrity) are used to automatically identify one or more regions of one or more layers in a layout of the circuit. The automatically identified regions may be provided to a manufacturing tool in GDSII by use of overlapping shapes in, or alternatively by moving existing shapes to, a different layer/datatype pair. For example, information about the automatically identified regions may be stored using a conventional datatype (e.g. value 0) with a new layer, or alternatively using a conventional layer (e.g. metal 3) with a new datatype (e.g. value 1), depending on the embodiment. The automatically identified regions contain cells and/or features (e.g. groups of shapes and/or individual shapes) whose tolerance in silicon (to be fabricated) is automatically changed from default, based on the design-specific attribute(s) and sensitivity thereto, expressed as design intent by a circuit designer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2008
    Publication date: February 26, 2009
    Inventors: Michel Cote, Michael Rieger, Philippe Hurat, Robert Lugg, Jeff Mayhew
  • Patent number: 7458045
    Abstract: Design-specific attributes of a circuit (such as timing, power, electro-migration, and signal integrity) are used to automatically identify one or more regions of one or more layers in a layout of the circuit. The automatically identified regions may be provided to a manufacturing tool in GDSII by use of overlapping shapes in, or alternatively by moving existing shapes to, a different layer/datatype pair. For example, information about the automatically identified regions may be stored using a conventional datatype (e.g. value 0) with a new layer, or alternatively using a conventional layer (e.g. metal 3) with a new datatype (e.g. value 1), depending on the embodiment. The automatically identified regions contain cells and/or features (e.g. groups of shapes and/or individual shapes) whose tolerance in silicon (to be fabricated) is automatically changed from default, based on the design-specific attribute(s) and sensitivity thereto, expressed as design intent by a circuit designer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2008
    Assignee: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Michel Cote, Michael Rieger, Philippe Hurat, Robert Lugg, Jeff Mayhew
  • Publication number: 20080076042
    Abstract: A method for defining a full phase layout for defining a layer of material in an integrated circuit is described. The method can be used to define, arrange, and refine phase shifters to substantially define the layer using phase shifting. Through the process, computer readable definitions of an alternating aperture, dark field phase shift mask and of a complimentary mask are generated. Masks can be made from the definitions and then used to fabricate a layer of material in an integrated circuit. The separations between phase shifters, or cuts, are designed for easy mask manufacturability while also maximizing the amount of each feature defined by the phase shifting mask. Cost functions are used to describe the relative quality of phase assignments and to select higher quality phase assignments and reduce phase conflicts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2007
    Publication date: March 27, 2008
    Applicant: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Michel Cote, Christophe Pierrat
  • Publication number: 20060095889
    Abstract: Design-specific attributes of a circuit (such as timing, power, electro-migration, and signal integrity) are used to automatically identify one or more regions of one or more layers in a layout of the circuit. The automatically identified regions may be provided to a manufacturing tool in GDSII by use of overlapping shapes in, or alternatively by moving existing shapes to, a different layer/datatype pair. For example, information about the automatically identified regions may be stored using a conventional datatype (e.g. value 0) with a new layer, or alternatively using a conventional layer (e.g. metal 3) with a new datatype (e.g. value 1), depending on the embodiment. The automatically identified regions contain cells and/or features (e.g. groups of shapes and/or individual shapes) whose tolerance in silicon (to be fabricated) is automatically changed from default, based on the design-specific attribute(s) and sensitivity thereto, expressed as design intent by a circuit designer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 29, 2004
    Publication date: May 4, 2006
    Inventors: Michel Cote, Michael Rieger, Philippe Hurat, Robert Lugg, Jeff Mayhew
  • Patent number: 6939524
    Abstract: A solid phase or form of carbon is based on fullerenes with thirty six carbon atoms (C36). The C36 structure with D6h symmetry is one of the two most energetically favorable, and is conducive to forming a periodic system. The lowest energy crystal is a highly bonded network of hexagonal planes of C36 subunits with AB stacking. The C36 solid is not a purely van der Waals solid, but has covalent-like bonding, leading to a solid with enhanced structural rigidity. The solid C36 material is made by synthesizing and selecting out C36 fullerenes in relatively large quantities. A C36 rich fullerene soot is produced in a helium environment arc discharge chamber by operating at an optimum helium pressure (400 torr). The C36 is separated from the soot by a two step process. The soot is first treated with a first solvent, e.g. toluene, to remove the higher order fullerenes but leave the C36. The soot is then treated with a second solvent, e.g.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2005
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Charles R. Piskoti, Alex K. Zettl, Marvin L. Cohen, Michel Cote, Jeffrey C. Grossman, Steven G. Louie
  • Publication number: 20050166173
    Abstract: Definition of a phase shifting layout from an original layout can be time consuming. If the original layout is divided into useful groups, i.e. clusters that can be independently processed, then the phase shifting process can be performed more rapidly. If the shapes on the layout are enlarged, then the overlapping shapes can be grouped together to identify shapes that should be processed together. For large layouts, growing and grouping the shapes can be time consuming. Therefore, an approach that uses bins can speed up the clustering process, thereby allowing the phase shifting to be performed in parallel on multiple computers. Additional efficiencies result if identical clusters are identified and processing time saved so that repeated clusters of shapes only undergo the computationally expensive phase shifter placement and assignment process a single time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2005
    Publication date: July 28, 2005
    Applicant: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Michel Cote, Christophe Pierrat
  • Publication number: 20050031972
    Abstract: A method for defining a full phase layout for defining a layer of material in an integrated circuit is described. The method can be used to define, arrange, and refine phase shifters to substantially define the layer using phase shifting. Through the process, computer readable definitions of an alternating aperture, dark field phase shift mask and of a complimentary mask are generated. Masks can be made from the definitions and then used to fabricate a layer of material in an integrated circuit. The separations between phase shifters, or cuts, are designed for easy mask manufacturability while also maximizing the amount of each feature defined by the phase shifting mask. Cost functions are used to describe the relative quality of phase assignments and to select higher quality phase assignments and reduce phase conflicts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2004
    Publication date: February 10, 2005
    Applicant: Numerical Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Michel Cote, Christophe Pierrat
  • Publication number: 20050031971
    Abstract: A method for defining a full phase layout for defining a layer of material in an integrated circuit is described. The method can be used to define, arrange, and refine phase shifters to substantially define the layer using phase shifting. Through the process, computer readable definitions of an alternating aperture, dark field phase shift mask and of a complimentary mask are generated. Masks can be made from the definitions and then used to fabricate a layer of material in an integrated circuit. The separations between phase shifters, or cuts, are designed for easy mask manufacturability while also maximizing the amount of each feature defined by the phase shifting mask. Cost functions are used to describe the relative quality of phase assignments and to select higher quality phase assignments and reduce phase conflicts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2004
    Publication date: February 10, 2005
    Applicant: Numerical Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Michel Cote, Christophe Pierrat