Generators, Templates, and Code Generation for Flexible Automation of Array-Style Layouts

The design of integrated circuits from the specification onward aims at the successful validation by silicon measurements. One key milestone in this process is the completion of the layout. This, however, is very challenging as many iterations are usually necessary due to parasitic effects. In order to address this challenge in analog layout design, our work extends procedural generator-based automation. A declarative array template is embedded into the common generator structure. Following this structure, generator code is automatically generated with a schematic as the input. Using this approach, a flexible generator is created immediately that allows automatic design of array-style layouts with template-based flexibility and at generator-based execution speed. In addition, the template enables early and fast parasitic estimates. Our combined approach contributes to analog layout automation by bridging the gap between generators and templates.