IC Packagers: Reuse Wirebond Placement with Place Replicate Modules

Most package designs have wire bonding and reusing the wire bond information for other similar dies placed in the design significantly improves the efficiency and reduces the turnaround time. Allegro^® Package Designer Plus provides Place replicate commands to replicate and reuse modules in the same or other designs. In the latest 17.4-2019 HotFix 019 of Allegro Package Designer Plus, Place replicate commands are enabled for the packaging design. These modules with wire bond information can be replicated to similar dies in a design.  In this blog, we will discuss how to reuse wire bonds in designs using the Place replicate commands.

Creating a Seed Circuit using Place Replicate Create

The first step to replicate a wire bond is to create a seed circuit or module that includes a die with wire bond information. The seed circuit saved as a module (.mdd) file can then be applied to similar dies in any design. The Place replicate create command is used to create modules and is available only in the Placement Edit application mode.

Use the following steps to create a module:

1. Switch to the Placement Edit application mode.
2. Right-click on a die and choose the Place replicate create command from the pop-up menu.
3. Select the wire bonds and guide path, and choose Done from the pop-up menu to complete the selection.
4. Pick the origin of the module by clicking on the canvas.
5. Save the created module. In the example design I used here, the module is saved as SEED.

The selected die and wire bonds are now part of the module. This module act as a seed circuit to replicate the wire bond for other similar dies placed in a design. The module created, using the Place replicate create command, when saved is locked by default to prevent accidental editing.

Replicating Wire Bonding for Similar Dies

The Place replicate apply command is used to apply wire bonding to other similar dies present in a design. This command uses previously-created modules and replicates them in a design. To use this command:

1. Select similar dies in the design and right-click to choose Place replicate apply.
   The sub-menu displays module names and the options to browse a module either from a database or from a library.
2. Select the module from the sub-menu.
   
   
   
   The Place Replicate Component Swap Interface dialog is displayed.
   
   
   
   
3. Enable the Hide Form checkbox and click OK.
   The selected module is attached to the cursor.
4. Click to place the module in the design canvas.
   All the selected dies are replaced by the module which has wire bonding attached.

Using the Place replicate apply command, wire bonds are replicated for all the selected dies. This process saves a lot of time and avoids errors that may arise from importing the wire bonds.

Editing and Updating the Design

Editing and updating a module design is a simple procedure. First, unlock the SEED circuit by right-clicking on the module and choosing the Unlock command from the pop-up menu.

Edit the wire bond of the SEED circuit. The following image shows that the wire bond of the SEED circuit is shoved to different locations.

Running the Place replicate update command on the SEED circuit, updates other replicated circuits with a single click.

Summing Up

The Place replicate set of commands in Allegro Package Designer Plus provides an effortless way to replicate the wire bonds on other dies. This is the most convenient and fastest method to replicate wire bonds for similar designs!

If you have any topic you want us to cover or any feedback, you can write to us at pcbbloggers@cadence.com.