Siliconnect

Wire up the chip. Siliconnect is a wire-routing puzzle: trace between pads with the same name to connect them. Wires can't cross, so you have to decide where each one goes, and in what order. Every wire you draw changes the paths left for the others. ■ 6 chapters, from silicon to circuit board Each chapter adds a new rule based on real chip design. • Diffusion — where polysilicon crosses diffusion, a transistor gate forms • M1 — a single metal layer, so wires can't cross • M1/M2 and vias — vertical and horizontal on separate layers; change layers to turn • Power — wide power lines block the routes next to them • Package — bond wires run from the die's pads to the leads without crossing • PCB — match the lengths of differential pairs and avoid long parallel runs ■ Find the shortest route Each clear is rated S, A, or B by total wire length. Find the shortest wiring and collect S ranks. ■…