Rule-Based Layout-Driven Parasitic RC Extraction for Post-Layout SPICE Simulation of CMOS ICs

This paper presents a rule-based LVS-driven methodology for parasitic RC extraction from CMOS layouts for post-layout SPICE simulation. The proposed approach operates directly within foundry-qualified rule environments, ensuring consistency with Process Design Kits (PDKs) and enabling seamless integration with existing design and verification flows without requiring field-solver execution during the production extraction flow. The methodology provides a generalized framework for deriving electrical parameters from layout geometries and is applicable to interconnects, contacts, vias, and gate structures in multilayer CMOS technologies. By decomposing conductive regions into directional components and applying geometric and Boolean operations, the method captures the impact of layout topology and process-dependent features on circuit-level behavior. In addition, a model-order reduction technique based on π-equivalent representations is introduced to simplify the resulting networks while preserving timing accuracy. This enables the scalable simulation of complex layouts with reduced computational overhead. The proposed framework supports layout optimization, variability-aware design, and process-technology co-design, particularly for mature and advanced planar nodes. The methodology is evaluated using register-file layout test cases and post-layout SPICE simulations. The results show that the proposed rule-based extraction and RC-merging flow preserve timing behavior while reducing netlist complexity.