The Complete Course of Static Timing Analysis STA

Explore how libraries define cell delay through propagation, intrinsic delay, and transition time, using 2D and 3D lookup tables with input slew and output load in static timing analysis.

Analyze wire load models and their role in estimating net delays in static timing analysis. Learn how extraction, SPF and SDF formats, and delay calculation drive back-annotation timing.

Explore how to calculate cell delays and net delays with timing arcs, including gate and constant arcs, and how to sum them to get total path delay.

Define clocks in static timing analysis, covering clock period, duty cycle, edges, and propagation. Explore ideal versus propagated clocks, clock latency, jitter, skew, and worst-case launch-to-capture across multiple clocks.

Explore how clock distribution and buffers affect timing in multi-flip-flop designs, analyzing local and global clock skew, interconnect delay, duty cycle, period, and frequency.

Explore setup and hold checks in static timing analysis, focusing on clock-to-Q delay and phase shift for multi-clock designs, with library lookup tables storing timing values.

Explore how timing checks diagnose setup and hold violations, explain how timing tools report them with pessimism, and show debugging and fixing approaches using a two-flop path example.

Identify timing path types and calculate slack for each path in a static timing analysis, using launch and capture clocks, setup and hold checks, and worst case timing path.

Identify design objects and various SDC constraints, and learn how environmental, power, and wire load models shape timing analysis, operating conditions, and clock behavior for verification.

Learn how SDC constraints model generated clocks, clock gating, and multi-cycle paths, and how to mark false paths and path exceptions to verify timing.

Learn to write a complete sdc file for static timing analysis by detailing source and generated clocks, setup and hold, uncertainties, delays, and constraints for a two-clock counter design.

Learn to analyze timing reports and capture arrival time, required time, and slack. Compare analysis modes: single, best-case, worst-case, and on-chip variation, and understand how libraries and LVF model delays.

Install the open timer, an open source static timing analysis tool, by meeting prerequisites, cloning from GitHub, building with CMake, and testing by invoking the tool to verify binaries.

Explore hands-on static timing analysis with OpenTimer. Clone a simple test case, load verilog and sdc, and run timing reports to study path violations and slack in a 45nm pdk.