Cadence 3D DESIGN VIEWER Datasheet

DATASHEET

CADENCE 3D DESIGN VIEWER

VI SU AL IZ E, D EB UG , AN D VE RI FY
CO MP LE X IC PAC KA GE S

Cadence® 3D Design Viewer is a full, solid model 3D viewer
and 3D wirebond design rule checking (DRC) solution
for complex IC package designs that is tightly integrated
and included with Cadence SiP Layout. It is also available
separately to be used standalone or tightly integrated with
Allegro® Package Designer (APD). It allows users to visualize,
investigate, and wirebond DRC check an entire design,

AN INTELLIGENT 3D
DESIGN VIEW

Virtually all of today’s EDA tools that
perform physical layout—IC, IC package,
or PCB—are two-dimensional. While
2D may work fine for substrate layout,
interconnect planning, or metal fill
creation, this “plane-view” does not lend
itself well to the design, management,
and verification of multi-tier wirebond
die or stacked-die designs. The design
complexity and density involved require a
more realistic three dimensional approach.

The Cadence 3D Design Viewer meets this
need by providing an IC package designer
with the capability to physically visualize
a design as it will actually look during
manufacture. A designer can interactively
zoom, pan, and rotate the 3D view as
well as select from a set of predefined
views from fixed orientations such as top,
bottom, or northeast corner.

or selected design subset, reducing design cycle time and
improving product manufacturability.

.

Figure 1: Cadence 3D Design Viewer lets users visualize the same design as it will actually appear

EMBEDDED WITH IC
PACKAGE LAYOUT

The 3D Design Viewer is included with
SiP Layout, but when acquired as a
standalone product, can be accessed
from the APD user interface. When
invoking the “3D View” the designer has
the opportunity to modify the settings
for package ball dimensions, colors and
multiple wire profiles (n- point models) as
well as select multiple 3D wirebond DRC
rules. The design data compiled by APD
and provided as input to the 3D viewer
is saved and can be shared with others
using the standalone Cadence 3D Design
Viewer, such as manufacturing engineers.

The benefits of working with the third
dimension are clear when the same
design is viewed in 2D and then in 3D.
For demonstration purposes a stacked
die design using four die on ball grid
array (BGA) substrate is used. The base
die is flip-chip attached; the top three die
are wirebond attached. In the 2D editor
view (Figure 2), visualizing and validating
the die stack and the wirebond ring is
challenging, even for a seasoned package
designer. And, due to the complexity, it
would be almost impossible to hold a
design review with an architect or lead
engineer. When the same design is loaded
into the 3D Design Viewer (Figure 1) the
designer and the engineering team can
not only easily visualize, investigate, and
create collaborative. markups but they
can also perform detailed 3D wirebond
checking, including the ability to define,
modify, and assign new wirebond profiles.

Figure 2: A multi-die stack on a BGA substrate viewed in 2D

the highlight color and the level of
transparency applied to none selected
objects.

The 3D Viewer is especially effective
when trying to understand and visualize
complex via arrays, especially on designs
using build-up layers. Figure 3 illustrates
how difficult it is to understand the

connectivity path of high density
interconnect (HDI) from a top package
substrate layer to a bottom layer viewed
in 2D.

Contrast this figure with the 3D view of
the same HDI. The designer can easily
visualize the interconnect path from the
top to the bottom layer.

EASY DESIGN
INVESTIGATION

Cross referencing is easy as the 3D Design
Viewer uses the same color/layer/object
settings as defined in Allegro Package
Designer. Layer visualization can be
turned on/off and layer transparency set.
For detailed design investigation, the
3D Viewer has similar “show element”
information command capability that
can be used by “object” or by “net.”
Importantly, the user has control over

www.c a den c e.c om

Figure 3: It is difficult to understand the connectivity path between the metal interconnect as it
transitions between layers in 2D

3D DESI GN V IEWE R

2

ADVANCED FEATURES

When preparing for 3D viewing in SiP
Layout or APD, it may be desirable to
focus on a sub-section of the package.
For this reason, the user is offered the
option of taking a section of the package
and viewing that piece in the 3D viewer.
This can be particularly useful in design
reviews where a section of the design is
being examined. (See Figure 5).

Another useful feature is the ability to
append multiple designs within one single
3D view. This is commonly used with
Package-on-Package (PoP) designs or in
cases where a multiple routing substrates
are used within a single package.

INTERACTIVE MARKUP

During 3D design viewing an engineer
can create “markup” jpeg snapshots
for design reviews and/or design
documentation that include the ability to
add basic shapes, arrows and text. This is
especially useful for communications with
the design chain partners and test and
assembly manufacturing departments.

Figure 4: In a 3D view the designer can precisely visualize the transitions in and out of complex
HDI vias

information provided by wire bonding
equipment providers as well as detailed
height information in the design die stack,
design rule checking can provide very
accurate spacing checks.

The rules are defined and stored as part
of the Allegro Package Designer design
session. Completely user-defined, they can
be used to check wire to wire and wire to
die interference checks.

3D WIREBOND
CLEARANCE DESIGN
RULE CHECKING

Stacked die or multi-tier single die designs
with dense wirebond patterns run the
risk of manufacturing issues where
wires may touch each other. In order to
maximize yield, manufacturing engineers
require adequate spacing between
wires. Otherwise wire sweep and sway
may cause a short during the molding
process. The 3D Design Viewer provides
the functionality needed to validate these
spacing requirements. Because the 3D
Design Viewer leverages wire curvature

Figure 5: Cadence 3D Design Viewer allows for detailed study of sections of a design to be
sectioned out and visualized in 3D.

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3D DESI GN V IEWE R

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Figure 6 shows how the 3D Viewer
enhances the designers debug
capability—the “info” command
highlights the DRC marker and the
associated wirebonds as well as indicating
the rule, rule value, and actual value.

CADENCE SERVICES AND
SUPPORT

• Cadenceapplicationengineerscan

answer your technical questions by
telephone, email, or Internet—they can
also provide technical assistance and
custom training

• Cadencecertiedinstructorsteach

more than 70 courses and bring
their real-world experience into the
classroom

• Morethan25InternetLearningSeries

(iLS) online courses allow you the
flexibility of training at your own
computer via the Internet

•CadenceOnlineSupportgivesyou
24x7 online access to a knowledgebase
of the latest solutions, technical
documentation, software downloads,
and more

Figure 6: A design rule violation is highlighted using the info command. 3D visualization lets you
see precisely where 3D spacing rules are violated.

© 2010 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cadence, the Cadence l ogo, and Allegro a re regist ered trad emarks

of Cadence Design Systems, Inc.

21397 03/10 KM/DM/PDF

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