TCL Scripting for Physical Design Training

The TCL Scripting for Physical Design Training is meticulously designed for VLSI physical design engineers, backend engineers, CAD engineers, and semiconductor professionals who aim to automate, customize, and optimize physical design workflows. This program focuses on leveraging Tool Command Language (TCL) to interact with industry-standard physical design tools, enabling efficient floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis, routing, and design analysis.

This training delivers a comprehensive, hands-on deep dive into TCL fundamentals and their practical application in physical design (PD) environments. Participants will learn to write reusable TCL scripts to automate repetitive tasks, extract and analyze design data, generate reports, and implement custom flows that enhance productivity and design accuracy. The course emphasizes real-world scripting use cases aligned with modern PD tool environments such as Synopsys ICC2, Cadence Innovus, and Mentor tools.

This Training Covers:

• TCL Fundamentals: Understanding TCL syntax, variables, control structures, procedures, lists, arrays, and file handling tailored for EDA tool environments.
• TCL in Physical Design Tools: Interacting with PD tools using TCL commands, querying design databases, and navigating design objects such as cells, nets, pins, layers, and timing paths.
• Automation of Physical Design Tasks: Automating floorplanning, placement optimization, CTS checks, routing analysis, and ECO flows using TCL scripts.
• Design Data Extraction & Reporting: Developing scripts to extract utilization, timing, congestion, power, and DRC data; generating customized reports for design analysis and signoff.

Prerequisites

Technical Prerequisites

• Physical Design Fundamentals: Basic understanding of VLSI physical design concepts such as floorplanning, placement, CTS, routing, timing closure, and signoff checks.
• EDA Tool Awareness: Familiarity with physical design tools like Synopsys ICC/ICC2, Cadence Innovus, or equivalent backend design environments.
• Basic Programming Concepts: Understanding of basic programming constructs such as variables, loops, conditions, and functions (prior scripting experience is helpful but not mandatory).
• Design Data Knowledge: Basic knowledge of design files and formats such as LEF, DEF, Liberty, Verilog, and SDC.

Domain Prerequisites (preferred but not mandatory)

• VLSI Design Flow Awareness: Understanding of the end-to-end ASIC physical design flow and how different stages interact.
• Timing & Power Concepts: Basic familiarity with timing analysis, constraints, power optimization, and signal integrity concepts.
• Unix/Linux Environment: Comfort working in Linux-based environments commonly used in semiconductor design workflows.

Recommended Skills

• Analytical & Logical Thinking: Ability to analyze design requirements and translate them into efficient TCL automation solutions.
• Attention to Detail: Precision in querying design databases and writing scripts that ensure accuracy in reporting and flow execution.
• Problem-Solving Mindset: Capability to debug scripts, resolve tool errors, and optimize PD flows through scripting.
• Collaboration Skills: Ability to work with physical design engineers, CAD teams, and architects to support design automation and productivity improvements.