Netlist or DEF from prior stage
Technology / LEF / liberty
SDC and floorplan constraints
Updated database
Reports for review
Annotated issues for next stage
PD owner
CAD/methodology
Timing lead for constraint review
Treat Post-Mask ECO Decision Flow inputs as a signed contract between RTL, synthesis, CAD, IP, package, timing, and PD. A 10+ year engineer blocks execution when the contract is ambiguous instead of burning runtime on invalid databases.
HANDOFF MANIFEST
design_tag: <rtl/netlist/def tag>
constraints_tag: <sdc/upf/mmmc tag>
library_stack: <pdk/lib/lef/tech/qrc tag>
signoff_corner_set: <corner/mode list>
owner_of_truth: <team/person>
known_risks: <open waivers or assumptions>Reject mismatched views before optimization starts.
Record the owner for every assumption that is not locally provable.
Preserve enough metadata that another engineer can reproduce the run in six months.
Tapeout is an auditable decision backed by tagged artifacts.
closure dashboard: timing, power, PV, DFT, package, and open waivers
revision manifest: RTL, netlist, SDC, GDS/OASIS, library, rule deck
waiver register: rule, count, owner, approver, expiration
foundry handoff package checklist
Timing and power are green, but the GDS tag differs from the STA database tag. The design is not ready. Reconcile the manifest and rerun signoff on the exact export database.
If a metric is yellow, name the owner, date, and mitigation before signoff review.
If the tag is mismatched, stop export; traceability is a hard gate.
If post-mask ECO is requested, confirm allowed metal layers before promising a fix.
Ask yourself: what single report line would prove this page's concept is either passing or failing?
You are expected to predict what your fix can break before running it.
You should recognize when the issue is methodology, not one block's implementation.
You should communicate risk in tapeout language: owner, evidence, impact, mitigation, and decision date.
Deep subpage pages in this course should be read like real closure review material. For a 10+ year PD engineer, the bar is not remembering terminology; it is making a release-quality decision under ambiguity.
Names the failing metric, corner/mode, database tag, and analysis switches before proposing a fix.
Separates data, constraint, physical, tool, and methodology root causes instead of treating all failures as optimization problems.
Chooses experiments by information gain and reversibility, not by habit.
States regression blast radius across timing, route, power, PV, DFT, package, and tapeout manifest.
Turns recurring failures into methodology guardrails, dashboards, or checklist items.
STAFF / PRINCIPAL CLOSURE NOTE
Context:
stage: <pre-CTS | post-CTS | post-route | post-fill | signoff>
tag: <database / netlist / SDC / library stack>
failing metric: <exact report line>
affected scope: <block / hierarchy / path group / power domain / region>
Hypotheses:
H1: <most likely physical or constraint mechanism>
H2: <competing explanation>
H3: <methodology or input-data issue>
Decision:
next experiment: <cheap check that can falsify H1>
fix candidate: <minimal reversible change>
rollback trigger: <metric that says the fix is wrong>
regression set: <timing / route / power / PV / DFT / package>
escalation owner: <team or reviewer>Tapeout is an auditable decision backed by tagged artifacts. Explain not only the preferred fix, but what margin or schedule you are spending to get it.
What must RTL, synthesis, CAD, STA, DFT, package, IP, or foundry agree to before this decision is final?
Which artifact becomes the source of truth after the decision: report, waiver, manifest, ECO script, or methodology deck?
What is the cost of being wrong: one rerun, ECO churn, mask risk, performance loss, or silicon escape?
"The current blocker is <metric> in <corner/mode/stage>. The leading cause is <mechanism>. I recommend <fix> because it is bounded and reversible. The regression surface is <domains>. If it fails, we escalate to <owner> with <evidence>."Always connect the concept back to a measurable signoff artifact.
A fix is not complete until you can name the regression checks.
Optimizing by habit instead of reading the current report.
Forgetting that a local fix can regress timing, routing, power, or PV elsewhere.