Shortest resistance path deception in ESD protection circuit P2P debug

Verifying and fixing ESD protection circuit violations is an essential step in tapeout sign-off flows for today’s IC chip designs. As one of the most commonly used ESD verification flows, the point to point (P2P) flow checks the resistances of ESD discharge paths in layout designs to ensure they are within design thresholds. However, when debugging P2P violations, information such as the shortest resistance path or the sum of resistances by layer is not only unhelpful but actually misleading. Designers who try to use this deceptive information may struggle to find the correct solution.

Avoid deceptive shortest P2P resistance path data in ESD protection circuit P2P debug with automated P2P verification

Automated P2P verification solutions like the Calibre PERC P2P debug flow help designers quickly locate true resistance bottlenecks, and provide accurate and practical guidance for P2P error debugging, especially in large designs such as full chip layout designs. Implementing these types of design verification techniques and tools for ESD protection in their design and verification flows can help design teams avoid missteps in P2P debugging that consume valuable time and resources, enabling them to deliver clean designs on schedule, with confidence in their results.