NTUplace4h: A Novel Routability-Driven Placement Algorithm for Hierarchical Mixed-Size Circuit Designs

A wirelength-driven placer without considering routability could introduce irresolvable routing-congested placements. Therefore, it is desirable to develop an effective routability-driven placer for modern mixed-size designs employing hierarchical methodologies for faster turnaround time. In this pa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on computer-aided design of integrated circuits and systems 2014-12, Vol.33 (12), p.1914-1927
Main Authors: Hsu, Meng-Kai, Chen, Yi-Fang, Huang, Chau-Chin, Chou, Sheng, Lin, Tzu-Hen, Chen, Tung-Chieh, Chang, Yao-Wen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithm design and analysis
Algorithms
Circuit design
Circuit synthesis
Congestion
Density
Design engineering
Design methodology
Hierarchies
Optimization
Placement
Routing
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Summary:A wirelength-driven placer without considering routability could introduce irresolvable routing-congested placements. Therefore, it is desirable to develop an effective routability-driven placer for modern mixed-size designs employing hierarchical methodologies for faster turnaround time. In this paper, we propose a novel routability-driven analytical placement algorithm for hierarchical mixed-size circuit designs. This paper presents a novel design hierarchy identification technique to effectively identify design hierarchies and guide placement for better wirelength and routability. The proposed algorithm optimizes routability from four major aspects: 1) narrow channel handling; 2) pin density; 3) routing overflow optimization; and 4) net congestion optimization. Routability-driven legalization and detailed placement are also proposed to further optimize routing congestion. Compared with the participating teams for the 2012 ICCAD Design Hierarchy Aware Routability-driven Placement Contest, our placer can achieve the best quality (both the average overflow and wirelength) and the best overall score (by additionally considering running time).
ISSN:0278-0070
1937-4151
DOI:10.1109/TCAD.2014.2360453