A novel method for the yield simulation of integrated circuits based on an approximation of circuit performance is proposed. By using this method, only one complete circuit simulation is needed for the estimation of yield. To estimate the gradient of yield, only one circuit simulation and a sensitivity analysis at the nominal point are required, so the computational costs are very low. The algorithms have been implemented in a software based on SPICE 3 and NPSOL for yield simulation and optimization. Examples are given to demonstrate the efficiency of the algorithms. >
['Zhihua Wang']
A novel approximation procedure for efficient yield simulation and optimization of integrated circuits