Patent ID: 7739646

Claim:
Computer readable media containing software which, when read and executed by a computer, causes the computer to act as a placement and routing tool by carrying out a method for generating a layout for an analog IC described by a netlist as comprising a set of devices interconnected by nets, wherein each device comprises at least one device element and at least some of the devices from device groups each comprising a plurality of device elements and at least one net interconnecting at least two device elements, the method comprises the steps of: a. providing a set of placement patterns, each providing a guide for placing device elements forming a device group within a device group layout for the device group; b. for each placement pattern, providing a set of routing styles to act as guides for routing nets between device elements placed in that particular placement pattern; c. identifying device groups in the netlist; d. generating a floorplan allocating space within the IC layout for each device group and selecting a placement pattern for each device group and a routing style for each net of the device group; e. generating a separate device group layout for each device group identified at step c, wherein placement of device elements within each device group layout is guided by the placement pattern selected at step d, and wherein routing of nets interconnecting device elements within the device group layout is guided by the routing styles selected at step d; and f. generating the layout for the IC, wherein the layout for the IC incorporates each device group layout generated at step e, and placement of the device group layouts within the IC layout is guided by the floorplan.