These days, a typical corner (TT) is no longer typical for most applications. For that matter, standard PVT Corners (FF/TT/SS), generally, do not represent the exact environmental conditions in which an ASIC/SoC will be functioning. This means the voltage may not be a nominal Vdd in a typical case or Vdd±10% in an extreme case; and the temperature may not be 25C in a typical case or 125C/-40C in extreme cases. Also, in today's market, everyµW of power saved, and nS of delay avoided, makes a significant difference in a product's performance and cost. Therefore, it is important to know how a system behaves under real-time PVT conditions. One needs to characterise foundation IPs at these special (custom) corners to avoid overdesign and achieve optimal product for best power and performance. When estimating the power and timing numbers of an IP at a custom corner (e.g., @95C and Vdd+3%), it is not easy to derive values from regular SS, TT, and FF characteristics as these may not support linear extrapolations. Even small errors in calculation can be very risky. One approach is to use characterisation tools (e.g., Silicon Smart from Synopsys) that can easily characterise foundation IPs to estimate power and performance of an SoC at any custom corner with substantial accuracy using reference ".lib" files.
Ensuring accuracy
In order to generate an accurate custom corner ".lib" file, one must ensure that a reference ".lib" file, which is already provided by an IP vendor, can be generated using the setup. The better co-relation achieved ensures more accurate ".lib" generation for the custom corner. Various options and settings available in the tool enable proper alignment of setup to adhere to the processes followed by different vendors to generate highly accurate ".lib" files. The tool also provides the flexibility to choose between different simulator environments available in the market (e.g., HSpice, Spectre).
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