GlobalFoundries and Synopsys Streamline the Move to 22nm FD-SOI
Posted date : Feb 9, 2016

By: Tamer Ragheb, Digital Design Methodology Technical Manager at GlobalFoundries and Josefina Hobbs, Senior Manager of Strategic Alliances, Synopsys

It’s clear that getting an optimal balance of power and performance at the right cost is foremost in the minds of designers today. Designers who want either high performance or ultra low-power, or ideally both, have a choice to make when it comes to migrating to next generation nodes. For applications that push the envelope in performance, FinFET would be the optimal solution. For applications that require ultra low-power and more RF integration, FD-SOI is the right solution. The two technologies have different value propositions that need to be considered while designing for applications ranging from high-performance computing and server to high-end mobile and Internet of Things (IoT).

GlobalFoundries 22FDX is the industry’s very first 22nm FD-SOI platform. The 22FDX technology is specifically designed to meet the ultra low-power requirements of the next generation of connected devices. The big advantage of this platform is its ability to provide software control at the transistor level through flexible body-biasing (Fig. 1). The ability to provide real-time trade-offs between power and performance via software-controlled body-biasing of the transistor creates new options for the designer. For example, imagine designing a processor for a Smartwatch that could match its power-performance tradeoff to your typical use and modify its performance based on how you’re using it that day.

The full impact of the body bias capability of 22FDX becomes clear when compared to incumbent high-performance process technologies (Fig. 2). 22FDX compared to a 28nm high K metal gate (HKMG) technology can provide up to 50% less power at the same frequency, or 40% faster performance at the same total power than 28HKMG. In addition, 22FDX can be further optimized with forward body bias, shown on the blue curve, to further reduce the power or to further boost the speed in a turbo operation mode.

In addition to the body bias, 22FDX offers capabilities for design flexibility and intelligent control that are not available in other technologies. These include:

• Improved electrostatic control of the transistor acts as a performance booster and enables lower VDD (i.e., lower power consumption) while reaching significant performance
• Low variability and body-biasing capability that can achieve 0.4 volt operation
• Complete RF enablement with ‘knobs’ to reduce RF power by up to 50 percent

Manufacturing success is highly sensitive to specific physical design features, with advanced nodes requiring more complex design rules and more attention to manufacturability issues on the part of designers. However, there are essentially no additional manufacturing requirements to design in 22FDX beyond what is required for 28nm designs.

There are four application optimized extensions available with 22FDX (Fig. 3). These are:

• 22FDX ULP- an ultra low-power extension that provides logic libraries and memory compilers that are optimized for 0.4 volt operation.
• 22 FDX ULL- an ultra low-leakage extension that brings in an expanded device suite capable of achieving one pico-amp per micron leakage.
• 22 FDX UHP- an ultra high-performance extension that leverages the overdrive capabilities and body-biasing features to maximize the performance of technologies in a turbo or a burst mode. It has high performance libraries and high speed interfaces and BEOL stacks optimized for competing architectures or applications.
• 22 FDX RFA- an RF and analog extension that brings in full characterization and enablement for RF applications, including optimized RF layouts and P cells, BEOL passives, and IP for Bluetooth LE and WIFI applications.

GlobalFoundries reference flow for 22FDX has been optimized to support forward and reverse body bias (FBB/RBB), which provides the design flexibility to optimize the performance/power trade-offs. The reference flow supports implant-aware and continuous diffusion-aware placement, tap insertion and body bias network connectivity according to high voltage rules, double-patterning aware parasitic extraction (PEX), and design for manufacturing (DFM). This provides designers with the flexibility to manage power, performance and leakage targets for the next-generation chips used in mainstream mobile, IoT and networking applications.

GlobalFoundries has been collaborating with Synopsys to enable and qualify their tools for the 22FDX Reference Flow. The recent qualification of Synopsys’ Galaxy™ Design Platform for the current version ofGlobalFoundries’ 22FDX technology allows the designer to manage power, performance and leakage and achieve optimal energy efficiency and cost effectiveness. Synopsys’ Galaxy Design Platform supports body biasing techniques throughout the design flow, including both forward and reverse body bias, enabling power/performance trade-offs to be made dynamically and delivering up to 50% power reduction.

Key tools and features of the Galaxy Design Platform in the 22FDX reference flow include:

• Design Compiler® Graphical synthesis with IEEE 1801 (UPF) driven bias-aware multi-corner multi-mode (MCMM) optimization
• Formality® formal verification with bias-aware equivalence checking
• IC Compiler™ and IC Compiler II™ layout with physical implementation support for non-uniform library floorplanning, implant-aware placement, multi-rail routing, and advanced power mesh creation
• StarRC™  parasitic extraction for multi-rail signoff with support for multi-valued standard parasitic exchange format (SPEF)
• PrimeTime® timing analysis and signoff including distributed multi-scenario analysis (DMSA) static timing and noise analysis, using AOCV and POCV technology
• IC Validator In-Design physical verification

The 22FDX technology leverages existing design tools such as the Galaxy Design Platform, manufacturing infrastructure and the broader design ecosystem. This speeds time to market and enables the creation of differentiated products.