Customizable Routing System Structural Directives
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing integrated circuit design technologies face challenges in achieving optimal routing due to the intractable nature of routing problems, leading to suboptimal results and the need for manual customization of structured interconnects, which is time-consuming and inefficient, especially when reusing custom layouts for similar circuits.
Innovation Solution
A customizable routing system that uses structural directives to generate and reuse custom connection layouts, allowing designers to create, store, and modify layouts based on patterns and properties, enabling efficient adaptation and application to similar designs, thereby reducing manual effort and improving design quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If batch routing is used to achieve routing, then routing can be automated, but the result is suboptimal and lacks structural features like symmetry and redundancy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses batch routing to generate an initial connection layout, then copies this layout to create multiple instances. Structural directives are applied to these copies to enforce symmetry, redundancy, and other structural features that batch routing alone cannot provide, thus combining automation with structural precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the connection layout by applying structural directives that modify parameters such as symmetry, redundancy, and structural patterns. This allows the routing to maintain automation while achieving optimal structural characteristics through parameter transformation
2Manufacturing precision
If custom routes are created manually to achieve structural features like symmetry and redundancy, then routing optimality is improved, but the process becomes tedious and time-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by generating an initial connection layout using batch routing before applying structural directives. This preliminary layout serves as a base that can be quickly transformed with structural features, avoiding the need to manually create everything from scratch
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates multiple copies of the initial connection layout and applies structural directives to these copies. This allows structural features to be efficiently imposed on multiple instances simultaneously, greatly improving productivity compared to manual creation of each custom route
3Manufacturing precision
If custom connection layouts are created for each design to achieve optimal routing, then routing quality is improved, but the time required for each design increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal initial connection layout using batch routing that can serve as a base for multiple different designs. This universal base can be quickly adapted to various designs by applying structural directives, eliminating the need to create custom layouts for each design from scratch
Solution Approach 2:
The patent copies the universal initial connection layout to multiple designs and applies structural directives to each copy. This allows high-quality routing with structural features to be achieved across multiple designs without repeating the time-consuming creation process for each one
4Manufacturing precision
If structural directives are applied to connection layouts to enforce symmetry and redundancy, then routing optimality is improved, but the complexity of the routing process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies structural directives to copies of the connection layout rather than manually constructing each structural feature. This automation of structural directive application reduces the perceived complexity of the routing process while maintaining high routing optimality
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically generating the initial connection layout through batch routing and then automatically applying structural directives to enforce symmetry and redundancy. This automation reduces the need for manual intervention and simplifies the overall routing process
Data Source
AI summary
A customizable routing system allows designers to create custom connection layouts that can be stored, turned into templates, reused, and further customized. The system describes designer-input custom connection layouts in terms of “structural directives” that specify its patterns and properties instead of using precise dimensions. Structural directives may describe particular connection patterns between structural components (e.g., backbone or fishbone), the placement, width, direction or layer of specific structural components, and properties of structural components relative to other components. These structural directives are implemented generally during routing, such as through design constraints, which allows the router to locally optimize the design (e.g., for cost or wire length) while considering the structural intentions of the designer. The system can also learn and replicate customization patterns based on existing layout templates by comparing connectivity information to that of existing layout templates and applying applicable structural directives.