IBIS-AMI: An end-to-end AMI modeling flow

In previous post, I mentioned about the “IBIS cook-book” as a good reference for the analog portion of the buffer modeling. Unfortunately, when it comes to the equalization part, i.e. AMI, there is no similar counterpart AFAIK. For the AMI modeling, the EQ algorithms need to be realized with algorithms/procedures implemented as spec. compliant APIs and written in C language. These functions then need to be compiled as a dynamic library in either dynamic link libraries (.dll on windows) or “shared objects (.so on linux-like). Different compiler and build tool has different ways to create such files. So it’s fair to say that many of these aspects are actually in the computer science/programming domains which are outside the electrical or modeling scopes. It is unlikely to have a document to detail all these processes step-by-step.

In this post, instead of writing those “programming” details, I would like to give a high-level overview about what different steps of the AMI modeling process are… from end to end.  Briefly, they can be arranged in the following steps based on execution order:

  1. Analog modeling
  2. Prepare collateral
  3. Define architecture
  4. Create models
  5. Model validation
  6. Channel correlation
  7. Documentation

The following sections will describe each part in details.

Analog modeling:

Believe it or not, the first step of AMI modeling is to create proper IBIS models… i.e. its analog portion. This is particular true if circuit being modeled belongs to TX. A TX AMI model is equalizing signals which includes its own analog buffer’s effect measured at the TX pad. So if there is no channel (pass-through) and it’s under nominal loading condition, the analog response of the TX will be the signals to be equalized. That is to say, without knowing what will be equalized (i.e. what the model’s analog behavior is), one can’t calculate the TX AMI model’s EQ parameters.

Take the plot above as an example. This is a FFE EQ circuit. The flat lines indicated by two yellow arrows are different de-emphasis settings, thus controlled by AMI. However, the rising/falling slew rate, wave shape and dc levels etc as circled in red are all analog behaviors. Thus an accurate IBIS model must be created first to establish the base lines for equalization. Recently, BIRD 194 has been proposed to use touch-stone file in lieu of an IBIS model… still the analog model must be there.

For a RX circuit, it may be easier as an input buffer is usually just a ESD clamp or terminator. Thus it doesn’t take much effort to create the IBIS model. Interested people may see my previous posts regarding various IBIS modeling topics.

Prepare collateral:

AMI’s data can be obtained from different sources: circuit simulation, lab/silicon measurement or data sheet. For simulation case, simulation must be done and the resulting waveform’s performance needs to be extracted. These values will serve as a “design targets” based on whitch AMI model’s parameters are being tuned.

For example, this is a typical TX waveform and measured data:

Various curves have been “lined-up” for easy post-processing. Using our VPro, we batch measured the value at the 5.3ns for different curves and created a table:Similarly, data collected from measurement needs to be quantified. This may be done manually and maybe labor intensive as the noise is usually there:

Some of the circuits may have response is in frequency domain. In this case, various points (DC, fundamental freq. 2X fundamental etc) needs to be measured like above.

If it’s from data sheet, then the values are already there yet there may be different ways to realize such performance. For example, equations of different zeros and poles locations may all have same DC gain or gain at particular frequencies, so which one to pick may depending on other factors.

Define architecture:

Based on the collateral and the data sheet, the modeler needs to determine how the AMI models will be built. Usually it should reflect the IC’s design functions so there are not much ambiguity here. For example, if the Rx circuit has DFE/CDR functions, then the AMI models must also contain such modules. On the other hand, some data my be represented in different ways and proper judgement needs to be made. Take this waveform as an example:

It’s already very obvious that it has a FFE with one post-tap. However, since the analog behavior needs to be represented by an IBIS model, then one needs to decide how these different behaviors, boxed in different colors, should be modeled. They can be constructed with several different IBIS models or a single IBIS model yet with some “scaling” block included so that IBIS of similar wave shapes can be squeezed or stretched. For a repeater, oftentimes people only care about what goes into and what comes out of this AMI model. The abilities to “probe” signals between a repeater’s RX and TX may be limited by the capabilities of simulator used. As a result, a modeler may have freedom determining which functions go into Rx and which go to Tx. In some cases, same model yet with different architecture needs to be created to meet different usage scenarios. An example has been discussed in our previous post [HERE]

Create models:

Once architecture is defined, next step is the actual C/C++ implementation. This is where programming part starts. Ideally, building blocks from previous projects are there already or will be created as a module so that they can be reused in the future. Multiple instance of the same models may be loaded together in some cases so the usage of “static” variables or function need to be very careful. Good programming practice comes into play here. I have seen models only work with certain bit-rate and 32 samples per UI. That indicates the model is “hard-coded”… it does not have codes to up-sample or down-sample the data based on the sampling-interval passed in from the API function. Accompanied with writing model’s C codes are unit testing, source revision control, compilations and dependencies check etc. The last one is particular important on linux as if your model relies on some external libraries and it is not linked statically, the same model running fine on developer’s machine will not even pass golden checker at user’s end…. because the library is not available there. Typically one will need to prepare several machines, virtual or not, which are “fresh” from OS installation and are the oldest “distros” one is willing to support. All these are typical software development process being applied toward this AMI modeling scope.

After the binary .dll/.so files are generated, then next step is to assemble a proper .ami files. Depending on parameter types (integer, values, corners etc), different flavors of syntax are available to create such file. In addition, different EDA simulators has different ways to present the parameter selections to its end user. So one may need to choose best syntax so that choices of parameter values will always be selected properly in targeted simulators. For example, if one already select TYP/MIN/MAX corner for the IBIS model, he/she should not have to do so again for the AMI part. It doesn’t make sense at all if a MIN AMI model will be used with MAX corner IBIS model… the corner should be “synchronized”.

Once the model is ready, next step is to tune the parameters so that each of the performance target will be matched. Some interface, such as PCIe, has pre-defined FFE tap weights so there are no ambiguities. In most cases, one need to find the parameter’s values to match measured or simulated performance. Such tasks is very tedious and error prone if doing manually and process like our “AutoTune” will come very handy:

Basically, our tool let user specify matching target and tool will use bisection algorithm to find the tap values. Hundred of cases can be “tuned” in a matter of minutes. In some other cases, grid search may be needed.

Model validation:

Just like traditional IBIS, the first step of model validation is to run it through golden checker. However, one needs to do so on different platforms:

The golden checker didn’t start checking the included AMI binary models until quite recently. Basically it loads the .ibs file, identifies models with AMI functions, then check the .ami file syntax. Finally, the checker will load the associated .dll/.so files. Due to the fact that different OS platform loads binary files differently, that means certain models (e.g. .dll) can only be checked on associated platform (e.g. Windows). That’s why one needs to perform the same check on different platforms to make sure they are all successful. Library dependencies or platform issues can be identified quickly here. However, the golden checker will not drive the binary file. So the functional checks described in next paragraph will be next step.

Typically, an AMI model have several parameters. To validate a model thoroughly, all combinations of these parameters values need to be exercised. We can “parameterize” settings in a .ami file like below:

Here, pattern like %VARIABLE_NAME% is used to create a .ami template. Then our SPIMPro can be used to generate all combinations of possible parameter values and create as a table. There can usually be hundreds or even thousands cases. Similar to the process described in “Systematic approach mentioned in my previous post”, we can then generate corresponding .ami files for all these cases. So there will be hundreds or thousands of them! Next step is to be able to “drive” them and obtain single model’s performance. Depending on the EDA tools, most of them either do not have automation capability to do this in batch mode or may require further programming. In our case, our SPIMPro and SPIVPro have built-in functions to support this sweeping flow in batch mode all in the same environment. SPISimAMI model driver is used extensively here! Once each case’s simulation is done, again one needs to extract the performance then compare with those obtained from raw data and make delta comparison.

A scattering plot like below will quickly indicate which AMI parameter combinations may not work properly in newly created AMI models. In this case, one needs to go back to the modeling stage to check the codes then do this sweep validation all over again.

Channel correlation:

The model validation mentioned in previous section is only for a single model, not the full channel. So one still needs to pick several full channels set-up to fully qualify the models. A caveat of the channel analysis is that it only shows time domain data regardless the flow is “statistical” or “bit-by-bit”, that means it is often not easy to qualify frequency domain component such as CTLE. In this case, a corresponding s-parameter whose Sdd12 (differential input to differential output) is represented by this CTLE AMI settings can be used for an apple-to-apple comparison, like schematic shown below:

Another required step here is to test with different EDA vendor’s tool. This presents another challenge because channel simulator is usually pricey and it’s rarely the case that one company will have all of them (e.g. ADS, HyperLynx, SystemSI, QCD and HSpice etc). Different EDA tools does invoke AMI models differently… for example, some simulator passes absolute path for DLL_Path reserved parameter while others only sent relative path. So without going through this step, it’s difficult to predict what a model will behave on different tools.

Documentation:

Once all these are done, the final step is of course to create an AMI model usage guide together with some sample set-ups. Usually it will starts with IBIS model’s pin model associations and some performance chart, followed by descriptions of different AMI parameters’ meaning and mapping to the data sheet. One may also add extra info. such as alternatives if the user’s EDA tool does not support newer keyword such as Dll_Path, Dll_ID or Supporting_Files etc. Waveform comparison between original data (silicon measurement vs AMI results) should also be included. Finally it will be beneficial to provide instructions on how an example channel using this model can be set-up in popular EDA tools such as ADS, HyperLynx or HSpice.

Summary:

There you have it.. the end-to-end AMI modeling process without touching programming details! Both AMI API and programming languages are moving targets as they both evolve with time. Thus one must continue honing skills and techniques involved to be able to deliver good quality models efficiently and quickly. This is a task which requires disciplines and experience of different domains. After sharing these with you readers, do you still want to do it yourself? 🙂 Happy modeling!

A quick and easy IBIS modeling flow

For engineers who are new to IBIS modeling, the “IBIS CookBook” [LINK HERE] is a very good reference document to get started. The latest version, V4.0, was created back in 2005. While most of the documented extraction procedures still hold true to this date, some of them may be tedious or even ambiguous in terms of executions. This is particular true for processes mentioned in Chapter 4, differential buffer modeling. Further more, most recent IBIS summit presentations focus on “new and hot” topics like IBIS-AMI modeling methodologies and not many are for the traditional IBIS. In this post, I would like to first review these “formal” process, dive into how each modeling table is extracted and used in simulation, then propose a “quick and easy” method particular for differential buffer. I will then summarize with and this approach’s pros and cons.

IBIS model components:

The most basic IBIS building block, as defined in Spec. Version 3.2, is shown above. Typically at least six tables will be included in an output type buffer. They are IV (Pull-up, Pull-down) and Vt( Rising and falling) under two different test load conditions. Additional clamp IV table (Power and Ground clamp) may be added for input type buffer. After Spec version V5.1, Six additional IT tables for ISSO_PU/PD/Composite currents have also been added to address PDN effects. To create an IBIS model, the data extraction processes start with exciting particular portion of the buffer so that measured data can be post-processed to formulate as a spec-compatible table format. Because a model also has TYP/MIN/MAX skews, so the number of simulations are basically the aforementioned number of tables times three. That is, for a most basic IBIS modeling, one may need to simulate at least eighteen cases (or simulation  “decks”).

To explain a little bit more regarding blocks untouched by proposed new method, I list them in the bullets below:

  • Package/Pin parasitics: IBIS cookbook and normal modeling flow do not mention about this part. Usually a buffer package’s model is extracted using tools such as HFSS or Q3d into a form of S-parameters or equivalent broad-band spice model. An IBIS model can use a lumped R+L+C structure to describe pin specific or package (apply to all pins) specific parasitics. Alternatively, an IBIS model can also use a more detailed tree structure package model shown below for non-lumped structure. Regardless, it’s HFSS or Q3D’s task to convert such extracted S-parameter or multi-terminal sub-circuit into these simple lumped RLC values or tree structures to be included in an IBIS file. It’s a separated process and not discussed here as a part of the buffer modeling.

  • C_Comp: At the very beginning, there is only a C_Comp value between pad and ground and it is used to describe frequency dependent behavior besides the parasitics. Later on, tool like HSpice introduces extra simulation syntax to split this single C_Comp value into branches between pad and various power terminals for better accuracy. Even later, this type of syntax was adopted as part of the IBIS spec. Still, user may only find how a single C_Comp value is computed in most materials. Briefly speaking, they can be calculated using time-domain method based on RC charging/discharging time constant or freq-domain method based on the imaginary current at a particular frequency. How to split this single value into several ones to match the frequency plot best remains an art (i.e. not standardize). In addition, the value C_Comp is not visible during modeling… their effects are only shown when there are reflections back from the other end due to impedance mismatch. What we have found is that usually an IC designer has a better idea about how this value should be and the aforementioned time/frequency domain calculation method may not produce an accurate estimate.

  • Clamp current: Power/Ground clamp currents and Pull-up/Pull-down currents are both IV based (i.e. dc steady state). So they are combined for load-line analysis during simulation. The difference between Pull-up/Pull-down and Clamp is that the latter one (i.e. Clamp) can’t be turned-off. So its effect is always there even when we are extracting IV for Pull-up/Pull-down structures. Thus to avoid “double-counting”, the post-processing stage needs to remove the clamp current from pull-up/pull-down currents first before putting them into separated table. To simplify the situation… particular for an output differential buffer, we may just use IV data even though this is an IO buffer.
  • IT current: These are different dc or transient based sweep in order to obtain buffer’s drawing current when power or ground are not “ideal”. This is important in DDR case when the DQ is single ended and it’s subjective to PDN’s noise. For differential application like SERDES, PDN’s effects are usually present at both the P and N terminals and will cancel with each other. Thus their extraction may be skipped for a differential buffer mostly. One may also note that the IT extraction of composite current is “synchronized” with VT extraction of rising/falling waveform so these current data are extracted with additional “probes” rather than separated simulation.

Full IBIS modeling flow:

The process suggested in IBIS’s cookbook can be summarized as the following steps. They are also implemented in our “Full IBIS modeling flow” within SPIBPro:

  • 0, Collect design data and collateral: A modeler needs to gather PVT (process, voltage, temperature) data, silicon design, buffer terminals’ definitions and bias conditions etc. A buffer may have several tuning “legs” and bit-set settings so a modeler needs to determine which will be used for TYP, MIN and MAX corners.
  • 1, Prepare working space: Create a working space on the disk.
  • 2, Generate simulation inputs: Generate simulation “decks” to excite different block of the buffer…one at a time. So one will have eighteen or more decks at the end of this stage waiting to be simulated.
  • 3, Perform simulations: Perform simulation either sequentially on a local machine or with a simulation “farm”. Double check the results and make sure they make sense, otherwise, go back to step 0 to see which settings may be incorrect or missing.
  • 4, Generate IBIS model: Post-process the simulation data and generate IBIS model. This is usually done by the tool like ours as manual process is tedious and error prone.
  • 5, Syntax check: First quality check of an IBIS model is that it must pass the golden checker. The check here is mostly syntax-wise though there are also basic behavior check such as monotonicity or DC mismatch etc.
  • 6, Validate IBIS model: A formal validation for an IBIS model is to hook-up test load and make sure they produce correlated results comparing to those from silicon at the end of step 3 above.
  • 7, Performance report: The modeler needs to extract the performance such as PU/PD impedance values and slew rate etc. for documentation purpose and check against the spec. or data sheet.

Full step-by-step modeling flow in SPIBPro

Data extraction for a single-ended buffer:

For a single-ended buffer, the first hurdle in the modeling process is to make sure each blocks are excited properly and simulation results make sense. As mentioned, there are at least eighteen simulation needs to be done:

There are also some complications regarding the DC simulation part: some of the buffer may have “clocking” and it’s not easy to separate them from the buffer iteself. Also,  there may be many RC parasitics between nodes for a buffer netlist extracted from post-layout. In other cases one can’t even separate the actual IO part from the pre-driving portions and the resulting circuits to be simulated become huge and time consuming. These situations will make IV data extraction slow and often problematic. As a result, a simple step 0~7 modeling process may not work properly and one need to iterate to tune the set-up such that simulation will always converge and resulting IV curve be monotonic. Nevertheless, the single buffer’s modeling is easier to manage.

Data extraction for a differential buffer:

Differential buffer’s IBIS modeling extends the challenge and effort to another dimension…literally! First of all, each pin in an IBIS file or component connect to an IBIS model and the possible structures and connections between different pins are very limited. So for a differential buffer, a series element needs to be created to describe the coupling relations between pins. All the pictures used in this paragraph are from IBIS cookbook and user may find further descriptions there.

In order to construct such series model, the IV sweep needs to be performed in two dimensions, both at similar resolutions. So if say a typical single-ended IV curve has one hundred points, then the second dimension should also have that much data. That means for one particular corner, there will be one hundred IV simulation in order to construct the 2D response surface shown below. First stage post-processing also needs to be preformed so that common-mode current can be eliminated. All these need to be done before formulating a 2D data view. Only after one can visualize the resulting data, he or she can determine what components are needed to create such series model. This presents the first challenges on top of the IV simulation issues mentioned for single-ended buffer.

The second challenge is regarding the VT simulation. The current flow through this newly constructed series element needs to be “eliminated” to avoid being double counted. For spice-like simulator, there is no such thing as “negative resistance”, “negative capacitance” etc. So one has to resort to approaches like control elements or even Verilog-A (as we presented in IBIS Summit 2016) to have proper VT data extracted. For control-source based approach, it is only limited describe pin couplings of a simple R/C but not non-linear resistance or surface such as series mosfet. For that, an intermediate step to map device or equation parameters to the calculated 2d surface is needed. Even using Verilog-A’s look-up table, the grid resolution is limited by the step size used in first two-dimensional IV step and may have non-convergence issue if it’s to coarse. That’s why in the cook book (the first two lines in the picture below), it doesn’t suggest any approach as it’s really not that easy!

Due to these two great challenges, we have found that differential modeling may not be easy for most modeler. We feel more this way when providing modeling service to clients who wants to perform simulations themselves then send us data. They may want to do so due to IP concern or they knowing more about the design. In those cases, the back-and-forth tuning and tweaking process become a burden on their side and also delay the whole schedule. Thus we are motivated to find an alternative “quick-and-easy” approach to substitute the “formal” modeling steps mentioned above. While being able to simulate accurately w/ great performance is still number one priority, we are ok that they can only be used under some context (such as channel simulation).

Quick and easy approach:

In previous post, we explained how IBIS model’s data are used in a circuit simulation. Simply speaking, the “VT” data is considered as “target” while “IV” tables are used to compute so called “switching coefficients” so that appropriate amount of current will be injected or withdrawn from the buffer pad to achieve. When this is true, the nodal voltage specified by that VT table at that particular time point will be satisfied due to KCL/KVL. Now there are switching coefficients for both pull-up and pull-down structures… thus it takes two equations to solve these two unknowns. That’s why two set of VT, each under different test loads, are required. Based on this algorithm, an IV data and calculated coefficients are actually “coupled” and affect each other. If current in IV table is larger, than the calculated coefficients will become smaller and vice versa. This way the overall injected/withdrawn current will still meet KCL/KVL required for VT. In this sense, the actual IV data is not that important as it will always be “adjusted” or “weighted” by the parameters.

On the other hand, the VT data also contains several DC points and they need to be correlate to the IV table, otherwise DC mismatch errors will be thrown by the golden checker. In addition, the IV data is limited to 100 points and they need to be monotonic to avoid convergence issue. So if we have several sets of VT data and one under normal test load (say 100 ohms for a differential buffer), then they will give us “hints” regarding how IV data will look like.

With this assumption, we propose the following quick-N-easy modeling steps:

  • Connect the silicon buffer to nominal loading conditions and obtain VT simulation data
    • For Single-ended, these are simple VT waveform under two different test loads;
    • For Differential, say use nominal 100 ohms first and see voltage range between V1 and V2
      • Let V3 = (V1 + V2) / 2, use VFixture = V3 and RFixture = say 40 & 60 respectively to obtain two waveforms;
      • Alternatively, use RFixture = 50 and VFixture = say (V1 + V3) / 2, (V2 + V3) / 2 respectively to obtain two waveforms;
      • The main goals is to have two set or set-up covering operating range when a nominal test load (say 100 ohms) is used.
  • Obtain C_Comp values from buffer IC designer
  • Obtain voltage range, temperature etc parameters.

And that’s all, through carefully implemented algorithm and computation, we can generate an IBIS model based on these data with minimal simulation requirements. An the generated model is guaranteed to be error/warning free.

While we will not disclose how these are actually done in details, we can show how they are incorporated in our SPIBPro… as shown below. As a matter of fact, this process has been used in the modeling projects of past year and shown great success.

Only two VT simulation data are required to create an IBIS model

Pros and cons:

We use this approach to create differential IBIS for channel analysis purpose (together with AMI) and have not yet found any problems. Having that said, I would offer several pros and cons for reader’s considerations:

Pros:

  • Minimal simulation required and easy to perform;
  • Will be mathematically correct: no DC mismatch or monotonic warnings, output will match provided VT waveform under nominal test load.

Cons:

  • May not be accurate if the model is used for DC sweep as the IV data in the model are artificially generated;
  • No “disable” or High-Z state as clamp currents (if there are any) has been incorporate into IV data without separation;
  • No Power-aware consideration as ISSO_PU/ISSO_PD generation are not taken into account.

Summary:

In this blog post, we reviewed the formal IBIS modeling process described in the cook book, challenges modelers will face and proposed an alternative “quick-and-easy” approach to address these issues. The proposed flow uses minimum simulation data while maintaining great accuracy. There might be limitations on models generated this way such as neither disable state nor power-aware data are accounted. However, in the context of channel analysis particular when a differential model is used together with its IBIS-AMI model, we have found great success with this flow. We have also incorporated this algorithm to our SPIBPro so our tool users can benefit from this efficient yet effective flow.

IBIS model: Debug and performance tuning

In this post, we would like to talk about debugging IBIS model and performance tuning. As discussed in previous posts, one of the first and important steps to make sure IBIS model generated from simulation data is valid is to run with IBIS committee released golden parser. Often times, the parser will output the following errors or warning messages for models with suspicious qualities:

  • DC mismatch: mismatch between VT’s steady state and IV data;
  • Non-monotonic data points in I/V curve;
  • Extreme currents in IV data.

We are going to discuss these in more details below. For performance tuning, we are going to talk about buffer overclocking and the associated accuracy concerns. This is important because it will make sure your buffer will run at desired speed or lower without producing erroneous response. We also briefly talk about solution implemented in our SPIBPro modeling tool to meet the overclocking challenges.

DC mismatch:

One of the most troublesome messages output by golden parser is the DC mismatch warnings/errors:

DCMismatchMsg

When the mismatch percentage is small, what’s visible to modeling engineer is that their IBIS model will not produce exactly same dc steady state voltages comparing to those from original transistor buffer design. The usual remedy often is to go back  and check the IV simulation setup and biasing conditions then regenerate model and  check again. The last resort is to use editor like those in our BPro to manually adjust the data points mostly in IV table such that the DC mismatch will alleviate or even go away. To know how to fix this problem, we need to explain what this message means:

Steady state at the beginning and ending of the VT waveform

Steady state at the beginning and ending of the VT waveform

In the figure above, the beginning and ending points of each VT table, be it rising waveform or falling waveform, are assume to have reached steady state. These two steady states are taken by the IBIS parser to perform check for DC mismatch. During steady state, voltages are assumed to stay the same and the time point is irrelevant. Since each VT table comes with test fixture information, one may compute load line current with these two voltage points and the given fixture info.

DC mismatch is due to mismatched steady state and IV data point

DC mismatch is due to mismatched steady state and IV data point

In the figure above, we depict a buffer output to a test load setup, represented by variable R fixture to V fixture to ground in this case at the lower left. The load line current I is V / R. That is, when the nodal voltage at pad is V, the output current I can be computed as:

  • I_LoadLine = (V_Pad – V_Fixture) / R_Fixture

Now this current is contributed by those pull-up (PU, PC) and pull-down (PD, GC) circuits.  At logic high output state, we may assume PD are fully off (current contribution is 0.0), so current at this point is from PU mainly minus small reverse bias current from PC and GC. When looking at the PU’s IV table, we can find this V_Pad, minus Vcc (as PU’s voltage is “Vcc relative”), find out the I_PU for this voltage point. We can then find I_PC and I_GC similarly using PC and GC table if they are present (remember PC is also “Vcc relative”). Finally I_Out is I_PU – I_PC – I_GC. that is, based on these IV tables, this buffer will output current equivalent to I_Out. DC Mismatch means I_LoadLine is not equal to I_Out. That is, the output current computed from the VT’s ending points is not same as that computed based on the given IV tables.

What we just described is for logic high situation, i.e. ending point or rising waveform or starting point of falling waveform. For logic low output situation, the process is similar, only that in this case, PU is assumed to be fully “OFF” so most of the current drawn is from the PD branch.

Knowing the causes of this errors, then the approaches to fix become apparent. Either one may need to adjust (manually or check and re-simulate to generate) IV table, or need to check whether the VT wavform make sense or not. Our experience show that 90% of the case, IV simulation is not done correctly, either because bias condition was not setup properly, or the “pseudo-transient” methods change voltage too fast such that the current measured is not true “steady state” current.

 

Non-Monotonic Points in I/V data:

This messages means the table is non-monotonic, meaning the sign of its first derivative changes. Our experience shows that these types of warnings are usually OK to ignore. However, strong non-monotonicity may cause simulator trouble to find solutions around that region, thus cause non-convergence issue.

Often time these troubling points are in the non-active region of the device and can be “smooth” out easily by deleting offending or adding points. It should also be noted that some devices do exhibit non-monotonic behavior, so artificially removing them either to make it more appearing visually or to avoid parser warnings may cause concern of the model recipients about accuracy of this model, if they are also knowledgeable about this type of buffer design.

 

Extreme current in IV data:

ExtremeIError

This happens most common to power clamp (PC) and ground clamp (GC) data table. However, since PC/GC currents can’t be removed and must be subtracted from the PU/PD (pull-up/pull-down) current during modeling, it may also means that PC/GC currents are not captured properly in PU/PD such that after subtraction, PU/PD data table shows signs of “break down” current like those in the PC/GC.

PowerGndClamp

The picture above shown typical PC/GC curve. As one can see, most of the time (in normal buffer operating region), the curve is relative flat and value is small. This is in reverse bias region and leakage current is small. However, due to the -Vcc ~ 2Vcc requirement of the IBIS modeling to account for total reflection. the ESD circuit may well march into the “break down” region and have exponential like current output or drawn from the pad. It is in this area which may cause extreme current warning.

Since the buffer operate in ESD’s reverse bias region mostly, the approach to fix this can be simple, albeit a little artificial. One may find the data point at least 1 volt beyond points when ESD starts to breakdown and use these two points for extrapolation. This way the exponential like curves are converted to linear with still sufficient current output/drawn to allow ESD circuit, represented by PC/GC, to protect the circuits connecting to the buffer’s output.

 

Buffer Overclocking:

Each set of rising and falling waveform combined to form a complete period, T. The maximum frequency a circuit simulator can operate this buffer thus is FMax = 1 / T. That is, the longer the T is, the lower speed buffer can operate without letting simulator sacrificing some of model’s original data.

When a buffer is operated at a higher frequency than its models allows, FMax, this buffer is being overclocked. Overclocked buffer may produce inconsistency issue, as explained below.

Tolerance

The figure above shows a typical untrimmed VT simulation data or IBIS model VT waveform. One will find that the steady state portion occupies great portion of the data points. So if we set a tolerance range around these steady states and trim to remove those data points, we may end up with a much shorter duration of the data table which still captures the majority of the transition informatino, yet can be operated at a much higher frequency.

Normally this type of the “trimming” can be done by the circuit simulator automatically. However, being a modeling developer, you would not want to limit your user choice of simulators. Since IBIS spec does not give a clear messages how a circuit simulator should trim the data (e.g, trim from back or from the beginning, with how much tolerance?), one may often find simulation results inconsistent when different simulators are used on the same IBIS model, particular at a higher frequency.

MIN corner has much longer delay

MIN corner has much longer delay

Another example of source of overclocking is shown above. In this case, the min corner waveform, represented in blue, has much longer delay than the other two corners. Since the IBIS spec. requires that all TYP/MIN/MAX corner should share the same set of X-data (time), the MIN corner will then be easily overclocked or even won’t have enough transition information captured in the produced IBIS model.

To address this overclocking issue, SPISim propose letting user gain finer control of the trimming behavior. Also let tool take care of the tuning after trimming is done to avoid aforementioned DC mismatch issue. Another handy solution is to use editor provided by BPro to allow certain degrees of manual editing easily.

Tuning

SPISim BPro’s manual tuning capabilities

Note that besides the voltage portion we have discussed so far, power aware IBIS 5.0 model also present another challenge: The composite current, which contains crow-bar current as well, usually starts being active even when output voltage is still steady. As a result, simulator can’t trim out the leading steady state voltage because doing so, will sacrifice the current information presented in the model. We will discuss this problem and propose solution further in future post.

IBIS model: How to create an IBIS model

In previous post, we described the required data inside an IBIS model. These data are mostly various IV, VT and IT look-up tables under different test loading conditions. The IBIS modeling process thus is to create these tables from original buffer’s simulation results, then format and output as IBIS compatible syntax. Basically, the IBIS modeling process includes the following steps:

  • Collect: Collect design collateral, such as spice netlist and parameters;
  • Generate: Create schematic net list to excite the buffer into operations mode;
  • Simulate: Simulate the schematic net list using original buffer design;
  • Calculate: Check and post-process simulation waveform, compute data;
  • Model: Output the processed data into IBIS format;
  • Check: Use golden parse to check syntax, fix any errors and address warnings.
  • Validate: Create schematic net list to excite the generated IBIS model, obtain its performance parameters and simulation waveform under test load. Correlate the performance from original buffer design and that from created IBIS model;
  • Report: Document the IBIS model, annotate manufacturer information etc. and ready for release.
SPISim BPro's IBIS modeling flow

SPISim BPro’s IBIS modeling flow

Let’s talk about these steps in more details.

  • Collect:  Take this buffer design as an example. If we are going to create an IBIS model for this buffer, first we need to obtain the original spice net list which mostly contains many transistors. Besides, we also need to know under which condition this buffer is manufactured. That means we will need manufacturing process info. We also need to know its nominal operation condition, i.e. voltage supply. Lastly, we need to know at what temperature this buffer is expected to be operated at… as transistor’s performance is affected by the temperature quite a bit. Together, these are usually called P/V/T corners (Process, Voltage, Temperature). Lastly, we need to know what each of the buffer terminals should connect to (bias condition) in order to operate. Normally, a buffer will have many control “legs” which circuit designers can use to fine tune its performance such as slew rate and output impedance. Different settings for control legs will yield buffer with different performance. As an IBIS modeling engineer, you will need to obtains the settings, usually are series of bits flags, for these control legs. With all these information ready, you then can create schematic net list to excite the buffer for modeling.
Transistor and process info. for a buffer design

Transistor and process info. for a buffer design

 

  • Generate: In this step, one needs to excite buffer in order to extract simulation data for different IV/VT/IT tables. Different buffer model type requires different tables. The following give simple overview of how buffer needs to behave for different table’s extractions needs:
    • IV for PU: enable the buffer to output high state, sweep voltage at output pad from -Vcc to 2Vcc to get input current;
    • IV for PD: enable the buffer to output low state, sweep voltage at output pad  from -Vcc to 2Vcc to get input current;
    • IV for PC: put it in high Z state while provide input to like it will output high state, sweep voltage at output pad from -Vcc to 2Vcc to get input current;
    • IV for GC: put it in high Z state while provide input to like it will output low state, sweep voltage at output pad from -Vcc to 2Vcc to get input current;
    • ISSO PU: put a variable voltage source between ideal supply voltage and buffer’s pull-up terminals, then measure input current at output pad while the voltage sweep from -Vcc to Vcc. This mimics buffer operating under non-ideal voltage supply condition (i.e. voltage droop).
    • ISSO PD: put a variable voltage source between ideal ground and buffer’s pull-down terminals, then measure input current at output pad while the voltage sweep from -Vcc to Vcc. This mimics buffer operating under non-ideal grounding condition (i.e. ground bounce).
    • VT for rising/falling waveform: Connect buffer’s output to test loads and make buffer operate for low to high and high to low transition. Note that the input stimulus’s ramp rate should be practical (e.g. 100ps) as there is no instantaneous logic transition in real world. Do this again for different test loads. At least two VT simulation should be performed, with these two test loading conditions cover the actual usage range of the generated buffer.
    • IT for composite current: Put a zero-volt voltage source between ideal voltage source and buffer’s pull-up circuitry. Monitor its drawing current as buffer runs during operations for previous VT simulation. Typically IT and VT set-up can be combined in one simulation;

BPro_ISSO

IBISIT

  • Simulate:  The aforementioned net lists file can be generated either separately, i.e. one net list targeted for one IV/IT/VT table extractions, or be combined in one single deck and simulate sequentially using like HSpice’s “.alter” statement. The advantage of doing it separately is that these netlist can be simulated in parallel either using different threads on the same machine or using simulation farm/pool. One might need to perform “pseudo transient” simulation instead of true DC sweep as either some of the buffer design has clock signal or they tends to have convergence issue when doing pure DC sweep.

BPro generated netlist files

BPro generated netlist files


 

  • Calculate: In this step, the simulation results need to be visually inspected first to make sure the buffer outputs are desired. If not, one needs to go back to the first step and see whether there are missing bias condition needed to apply to buffer or the simulation setup is incorrect. Remember… garbage in, garbage out! If the simulation waveform is as expected, then the calculation step usually involve subtracting the always existed PC/GC reverse bias current portion from IV data for PU and PD, and switch the voltage for PC and PU such that they will be Vcc relative. If there is on die termination, the PC/GC current will be significant and may needs other special treatment. [Linked to Bob Ross’s paper]

 

  • Model: This step involves translating the calculated data table, along with its operation and loading conditions when the buffer is simulated, into IBIS syntax compatible format. To make data table compact and accurate, an optimization process is usually needed such that best 100 or 1000 points of data are selected from the sometime lengthy time-domain simulation results. Also, all Typ/Min/Max waveform columns have same time point at particular time. so the optimization process needs to take these into account. This optimization process is important for IBIS V3.2 model which only allows 100 data points in the table, and IBIS V5.0 model as well as the composite current is usually very “spiky” and best points need to be selected properly in order to capture most of the current behavior.
BPro's algorithm selects best 100/1000 points

BPro’s algorithm selects best 100/1000 points

 

  • Check: Once we have generated an IBIS model, the first step of sanity check is to invoke golden parser to check the syntax. Besides, it will also detect possible dc mismatch issue which implies the quality problem of the generated model. If the difference is beyond certain percentage, it will be flagged as error by the golden parser and most industry circuit simulator will refuse to run on these models. So it’s crucial to iron out and fix any errors and minimize the warning messages.
BPro uses golden parser to check syntax and detect errors

BPro uses golden parser to check syntax and detect errors

 

  • Validation: Once a syntax valid IBIS model is generated, one needs to further validate its performance and ensure it correlates to the original buffer design well. The validation net list contains instantiated IBIS instance alone with same test loading condition used for original buffer excitation. A good IBIS model is not only accurate, compact, but also run very fast without any convergence issue. So this step should run very fast. One can then visually check and correlate the simulation waveform produced by both original buffer in the “simulation” step and those produced by this just created buffer. Except for the leading delay which IBIS model is not intended to capture, the transition waveform shape and dc steady state should correlate very well.

 

  • Report: A quantitative report is usually expected to demonstrate the quality of the generated buffer. IBIS accuracy handbook and quality spec give spec. on these as industry standard. A “figure of merits” (FOM) is usually used to represent how well the generated IBIS model correlate to original buffer design.
BPro's visual inspection and FOM reporting

BPro’s visual inspection and FOM reporting

The above is a brief overview of the eight-step IBIS modeling process. There are many details which worth further discussion but are beyond the scope of this post. As one can see, there are many steps involved. While creating IBIS model manually is possible, yet it’s time consuming and error prone. That is why we SPISim developed the BPro module to address the needs for the streamlined modeling process.