Kuang-Kuo Lin et al
Mentor Graphics

Customers want their designs to have the best yields from the foundry. When those designs include external IP, customers expect and demand that the IP has been optimized with the latest Design For Manufacturing (DFM) technologies to minimize variability and ensure manufacturability. IP vendors must collaborate with the foundries and EDA companies to ensure IP DFM compliance and optimization. This paper examines the components of an IP DFM solution, and the process by which the foundry, IP vendor and EDA company have worked together to implement and ensure successful DFM compliance for IP.