Patent ID: 7073156
Filing Date: 2006-07-04
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method of designing a semiconductor device, the method comprising: providing a plurality of component design parameter files in a data repository, each of the component design parameter files associated with a discrete circuitry component and including an estimated silicon area required to construct the discrete component, the circuitry components including at least some components selected from the group consisting of an AND gate, an OR gate, a NAND gate, a NOR gate, an XOR gate, a latch, and a flip-flop; maintaining a circuit design parameter file for a circuit being designed, the circuit design parameter file specifying an estimated total silicon area for the circuit being designed; monitoring a design environment to detect the addition of a circuitry component to the circuit; determining a type of circuitry component added to the circuit being designed; accessing a component design parameter file associated with the determined type of circuitry component that specifies the estimated silicon area required to construct the added circuitry component; updating the circuit design parameter, wherein updating includes adding the specified estimated silicon area required to construct the added circuitry component to the estimated total silicon area maintained in the circuit design parameter file so that the estimated total silicon area includes the silicon area required to construct the added circuitry component; providing the circuit designer with feedback concerning the estimated total silicon area of the circuit being designed; monitoring a design environment to detect the deletion of a circuitry component from the circuit being designed; and accessing a component design parameter file that specifies the total silicon area for the deleted circuitry component.