Method for power routing and distribution in an integrated circuit with multiple interconnect layers

摘要

An integrated circuit 210 has a power grid formed from a first set of power buses 201a and 202a on a metal interconnect level M1, a second set of power buses 203a and 204a on interconnect level M4, and a third set of power buses 205a and 206a on interconnect level M5. The set of power buses on level M4 are oriented in the same direction as the set of power buses on level M1, and both sets of buses are located coincidentally. A high power logic cell 220 is pre-defined with a set of M1-M4 power vias 221 and 222 so that logic cell 220 can be positioned in a horizontal row unconstrained by pre-positioned M1-M4 power vias. Dummy cell 230 with M1-M4 power vias is positioned as needed so as not to exceed a maximum strapping distance D1. A maximum value for distance D1 is selected based on dynamic power requirements of nearby logic cells 250a-n as determined by simulation. A method for designing and fabricating integrated circuit 210 is described.