Design automation for managing the complexity of mixed-domain microsystems

电子设计自动化（EDA）和计算机辅助设计（CAD）工具是使微电子行业蓬勃发展成为全球数十亿美元产业的关键推动因素，加拿大处于这场革命的最前沿。CAD工具允许设计人员管理包含数百万个晶体管的超大规模设计的复杂性，并显著降低设计成本和上市时间。因此，微电子元件目前是从计算机到汽车再到烤面包机的大多数消费产品中越来越重要的一部分，除了传统的台式/笔记本计算机之外，特别是在个人无线通信产品和数字娱乐产品中预期会有显著的增长。这是因为重要的技术进步带来了前所未有的机遇和重大挑战。光刻技术的进步已经导致更小的器件尺寸进入纳米范围，商用45纳米器件即将出现。为了解决集成、信号完整性和功率分配问题，封装技术正在以非常快的速度发展。最后，基于纳米技术、微电子机械系统（MEMS）、光电子技术和生物/化学传感器的新技术和设备正在与微电子技术相结合，以形成具有广泛潜在应用的微系统，特别是在生物医学技术领域。虽然这些技术进步为经济增长和改善加拿大人的生活提供了重要机会，但它们也导致设计的复杂性显着增加。该研究计划包括协调的研究活动，导致设计自动化工具和方法，以解决这种日益增加的设计复杂性，使加拿大工业能够充分利用先进的微系统的潜力。

Electronic design automation (EDA) and computer aided design (CAD) tools were the key enablers that allowed the microelectronics industry to flourish into a multi-billion dollar industry world wide, with Canada at the forefront of this revolution. CAD tools have allowed designers to manage the complexity of very large scale designs containing millions of transistors, and to significantly reduce the design cost and time to market. As a result, microelectronic components are currently an increasingly significant part of most consumer products ranging from computers to cars to toaster-ovens, with significant growth expected particularly in personal wireless communications products and digital entertainment products in addition to the traditional desktop/notebook computers. This is due to important technological advances which have resulted in unprecedented opportunities as well as significant challenges. Advances in lithography have lead to smaller device sizes well into the nanometer range with commercial 45nm devices on the horizon. Packaging technology is advancing at a very fast pace in order to address integration, signal integrity and power distribution issues. Finally novel technologies and devices based on nanotechnology, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), opto-electronics technologies and bio/chemical sensors are being integrated with microelectronics in order to form Microsystems with wide ranging potential applications most notably in the biomedical technology area. While these technological advances represent an important opportunity for economic growth, and for improving the lives of Canadians, they also result in a significant increase in the complexity of design. This research program consists of coordinated research activities leading to design automation tools and methodologies for addressing this increasing design complexity with the aim of enabling the Canadian industry to take full advantage of the potential of advanced Microsystems.