Localized Context Configuration for EDA Circuit Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic design automation (EDA) tools apply configuration parameters globally to circuit designs, which can lead to suboptimal performance in regions with unique characteristics, such as power or timing issues, as they do not account for localized variations within the circuit.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a localized context configuration approach that identifies outlier regions within a circuit design based on characteristics like power and timing, allowing for tailored configuration parameters to be applied locally to these regions while maintaining global optimization for others, thereby enhancing design optimization efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If global configuration parameters are applied to the entire circuit design, then the EDA tool operation is simple and consistent, but the optimization performance in regions with unique characteristics (power, timing issues) becomes suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the circuit design into multiple contexts based on design hierarchy and characteristics. Each context can have its own configuration parameters, allowing localized optimization for regions with unique power or timing requirements while maintaining global parameters for standard regions. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling differentiated optimization without requiring complete redesign of the entire configuration system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by allowing different configuration parameters to be applied to different contexts within the circuit design. Outlier contexts identified through analysis can receive customized configuration parameters tailored to their specific characteristics (e.g., power-critical regions get power-optimized parameters, timing-critical regions get timing-optimized parameters), while non-outlier contexts use standard global parameters.
2Reliability
If localized configuration parameters are applied to all regions, then optimization performance improves, but the processing time and computational resources increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by identifying and applying localized configuration parameters only to outlier contexts that exhibit suboptimal characteristics (power, timing, or area outliers), rather than applying localized parameters to all regions. This selective approach achieves performance improvement in critical regions while avoiding the excessive processing time that would result from universal localized configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary analysis to identify outlier contexts before applying localized configuration parameters. By pre-identifying which regions need specialized optimization based on their characteristics, the system avoids the computational overhead of analyzing and configuring every region, thus reducing synthesis execution time while still achieving performance improvements where needed.
3Productivity
If the EDA tool analyzes and identifies outlier contexts, then targeted optimization can be applied, but the initial analysis phase increases processing overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The EDA tool performs self-service by automatically analyzing its own output data to identify outlier contexts that require localized optimization. The tool uses its existing synthesis and placement capabilities to generate initial results, then analyzes these results to identify contexts with suboptimal characteristics, and finally applies localized configuration parameters to improve those specific regions. This self-service approach minimizes external intervention while achieving targeted optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
Example systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to implement localized context configuration for electronic design automation (EDA) are disclosed. Examples disclosed herein partition a circuit design into a plurality of contexts based on output data from a first execution iteration of an EDA tool, the output data including a netlist representative of the circuit design, the output data based on a first set of configuration parameters applied globally to the circuit design by the EDA tool. Disclosed examples also identify an outlier context in the plurality of contexts based on the output data. Disclosed examples further provide the EDA tool with a second set of configuration parameters to apply locally to the outlier context in a second execution iteration of the EDA tool, the EDA tool to apply the first set of configuration parameters to other ones of the contexts not identified as outliers.