Takumi Expands Its Layout Optimization Tools to Support Automated Enforcement of...

Takumi Expands Its Layout Optimization Tools to Support Automated Enforcement
of Recommended Rules

SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Takumi Technology Corporation
today announced the availability of its new layout optimization tool --
Takumi Enhance-RO for automated enforcement of recommended rules and critical
area optimization. With Takumi Enhance-RO, Takumi's layout optimization suite
now offers complete solutions to address issues that affect parametric yield
as well as eliminating catastrophic defects.
Recommended design rules, sometimes referred to as DFM rules or preferred
rules, are increasingly used by foundries to manage yield ramp for advanced
process nodes. Each of these recommended rules are designed to address
specific yield loss conditions encountered during process ramp-up. The number
of these rules also increases rapidly with each new process node. Manual
enforcement is extremely difficult as often these rules contradict or fight
with each other. The relative priority of each rule is design-dependent. For
example, in the case of data-path, control logic, and embedded memory macros,
it is very likely that a single rule may take on different priorities.
With a fixed cell area and tight performance constraints, enforcing
recommended rules on any layout is a challenge. With space constraints,
enforcement of recommended rules by objectively trading-off the relative
impact on silicon quality is practically impossible. This process is no longer
a geometric manipulation of layout dimensions. It is an optimization process
involving quantitative trade-off analyses where automation is the only viable
option.
"Implementing recommended design rules is a fundamental step in managing
yield and quality of advanced designs at 65nm and 45nm," said Mr. Akifumi
Goto, President and CEO of Takumi Technology. "Takumi Enhance-RO gives the
user unprecedented productivity gains by fully automating the recommended rule
enforcement process and benefiting from the foundry's learning curve in yield
enhancement."
Takumi Enhance-RO, with its built-in cost analysis and dynamic trade-off
analysis, allows a user to enforce all applicable recommended rules, by
objectively trading-off against cost. This ensures a high quality layout.
About Takumi Technology Corporation
Takumi Technology Corporation (Takumi) is the leader in providing design-
for-manufacturing (DFM) system solutions based on its unique criticality aware
concept. Takumi's customers are major semiconductor manufacturers, capital
equipment makers and photomask providers. Takumi's software products include
Takumi Enhance-RO(TM) -- an automated recommended rule enforcement and CAA
optimization tool, Takumi Enhance-LO(TM) -- an automated model-based layout
optimization tool; Takumi HSF(TM) -- a full-chip lithography-hotspot removing
tool; and Takumi D3A(TM) -- an automated mask defect analysis and judgment
tool. Takumi Technology B.V. (in The Netherlands) and Takumi Technology KK (in
Japan) are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Takumi Technology Corporation.
SOURCE Takumi Technology Corporation

Tom Wong, Vice President of Marketing of Takumi Technology Corporation,
+1-408-987-8800, t.wong@takumi-tech.com; or Matthew Quint, Principal of Quint
PR, +1-650-599-9450, mquint@quintpr.com, for Takumi Technology Corporation