Standard Cells vs IO Cells

• Standard cells are logic cells; IO cells form the interface between the core and the outside world.
• IO cells include protection circuitry such as short-circuit and over-voltage protection.
• The core operating voltage and the IO operating voltage differ, and the exact values depend on the technology library. For a typical 130nm library the core runs at about 1.2V while the IO runs at about 2.9/3.3V.

KEY Standard cells are core logic; IO cells interface outward with protection and a higher operating voltage.

Switching-Activity Checklist at Floorplan

Yes. The switching activity of the macros is provided in a checklist, which also gives the power consumption of each macro at various operating frequencies.

KEY Yes - the front-end checklist gives macro switching activity and per-frequency power consumption.

Macro Power Ring - Mandatory or Optional

For a hierarchical design the macro power ring is mandatory. For a flat design it is optional.

KEY Macro power rings are mandatory in hierarchical designs and optional in flat designs.

Sizing Macro Routing Channels

Total macro pins are 10 x 200 = 2000. The vertical metal layers available for routing them are M3, M5 and M7. In a 28nm node the track pitch is 0.05um for M1-M6, 0.1um (2x) for M7-M8, and 0.8um (8x) for M9-M10.

Let H be the minimum horizontal channel needed. The track capacity is H/0.05 + H/0.05 + H/0.1 = 2000 for M3, M5 and M7. Solving gives H = 2000/50 = 40um.

So roughly 40um of horizontal space is needed between the macro ...