Robustness characterization of standard cell libraries

As feature sizes of integrated circuits shrink, fluctuations in electrical performance parameters drastically gain influence. They are especially important for standard cells as the basic components of digital designs, because they are instantiated numerously. In this paper, we present a methodology to statistically analyze performance parameter fluctuations and to abstract circuit robustness. As a result, we are able to determine the most critical cells in terms of performance parameter variability. These cells should either be optimized or rarely used in digital designs.