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SKY130 Standard Cell Library Overview

Layer What It Is Who Controls It What Can Change What Cannot Change
Process (Sky130) The fabrication technology (130nm CMOS) SkyWater Foundry Nothing (fixed silicon process) Transistor physics, layers, materials
Design Rules Geometric rules for layout (spacing, width, enclosure) SkyWater Foundry Nothing (must follow rules) Poly spacing, metal width, well spacing, etc.
Device Models SPICE transistor models (BSIM) SkyWater Foundry Nothing (same models for all libraries) Electrical behavior of MOSFETs
Standard Cell Library (fd_sc_*, ef_sc_*, osu_sc_*) Pre-designed logic cells built using the process Foundry or Third Parties Transistor sizing, layout style, cell height, drive strength options Must obey process rules
Library Flavor (hd, hs, ms, hdl, ls) Performance/area/leakage tradeoff variant Library Designer Speed vs area vs leakage optimization Logical functionality of the cell

One Process, Multiple Libraries

Category Example Meaning
Process sky130 130nm SkyWater fabrication process
Source fd, ef, osu Who created the library (Foundry, Efabless, OSU)
Type sc Standard cell digital logic
Flavor hd, hs, ms, hdl, ls Density/speed/leakage tradeoff
Cell dfxbp_1 Specific logic function + drive strength

Synthesis s6

Stage Command Purpose
Read design read_verilog Load the Verilog source files
Build hierarchy hierarchy -check -top Define the top module and verify module connections
RTL synthesis synth -top Convert behavioral RTL into generic logic gates
Flip-flop mapping dfflibmap Map generic flip-flops to Sky130 sequential cells
Logic mapping abc Map combinational logic to Sky130 standard cells
Cleanup clean Remove unused wires and temporary structures
Output net-list write_verilog Export the final gate-level net-list