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This guide to timing constraints in integrated circuit design shows how to maximize performance of IC designs by specifying timing requirements correctly. Coverage includes such design aspects as synthesis, static timing analysis and placement and routing.

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This book serves as a hands-on guide to writing and understanding timing constraints in integrated circuit design. Readers will learn to write their constraints effectively and correctly, in order to achieve the desired performance of their IC designs, including considerations around reuse of the constraints. Coverage includes key aspects of the design flow impacted by timing constraints, including synthesis, static timing analysis and placement and routing. Concepts needed for specifying timing requirements are explained in detail and then applied to specific stages in the design flow, all within the context of Synopsys Design Constraints (SDC), the industry-leading format for specifying constraints.

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Introduction.- Synthesis Basics.- Timing Analysis and Constraints.- SDC Extensions through Tcl.- Clocks.- Generated Clocks.- Clock Groups.- Other Clock Characteristics.- Port Delays.- Completing Port Constraints.- False Paths.- Multi Cycle Paths.- Combinatorial Paths.- Modal Analysis.- Managing Your Constraints.- Miscellaneous SDC Commands.- XDC: Xilinx Extensions To SDC.

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Sanjay Churiwala is an Electronics Engineer from IIT Kharagpur, with two decades of experience in EDA and VLSI. His interest areas include rule checking, synthesis, simulation, STA, Power and Clock Domain Crossings and Synchronization. He currently works at Hyderabad office of Xilinx.

Sridhar Gangadharan is a Senior Product Engineering Director for Timing Constraints Analysis and SpyGlass RTL Analysis Products at Atrenta. He has over 20 years of experience in the electronic design automation industry. His interest areas include RTL verification, timing closure, delay calculation and memory compilers. He holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. He is based in San Jose, CA.

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