RTL Hardware Reduction Through Property-Driven Netlist Rewiring

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing hardware customization methods are limited by their focus on adding instructions to a specific hardware design, primarily based on parameterization and metaprogramming, lacking flexibility and efficiency in reducing unnecessary components.

Innovation Solution

A property-driven framework that automatically generates reduced component hardware by eliminating unneeded or undesired components in the instruction set architecture (ISA) directly from an arbitrary resistor-transistor logic (RTL) or gate-level netlist, using property checking to identify and remove untogglable gates.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If hardware is customized by adding instructions to a specific hardware design, then functionality is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovefunctionalityVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes unnecessary components from the hardware design. Instead of adding instructions to customize hardware, the framework identifies and eliminates unneeded gates and components that are not required for the target workload, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining necessary functionality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent inverts the traditional customization approach. Rather than starting with a base design and adding required instructions, the framework starts with a complete design and removes unnecessary instructions and components, achieving customization through elimination rather than addition.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Adaptability or versatility

If parameterization and metaprogramming are used for hardware customization, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveadaptabilityVSAvoidmanufacturing precision

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary analysis of the hardware design before manufacturing. The framework statically analyzes the netlist to identify which components will never be activated for the target workload, allowing precise removal of unnecessary gates before the manufacturing process, thereby maintaining manufacturing precision while achieving adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If complete hardware designs are used to support all possible instructions, then adaptability is improved, but area increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveadaptabilityVSAvoidarea

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes unnecessary hardware components from complete designs. By analyzing which instructions are actually needed for the target workload and removing support for unnecessary instructions, the framework significantly reduces the hardware area while maintaining adaptability for the required instruction set.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Adaptability or versatility

If complete hardware designs are used to support all possible instructions, then adaptability is improved, but gate count increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveadaptabilityVSAvoidgate count

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent inverts the traditional approach by starting with a complete design supporting all instructions and systematically removing unnecessary gates and components. This inversion allows the framework to achieve adaptability with minimal gate count by eliminating only what is not needed for the target workload.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentUS12437133B2Property-driven automatic generation of reduced component hardware

Publication Date: 2025.10.07 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIV OF ILLINOIS

AI summary

An embodiment may involve obtaining a specification of connectivity between a plurality of electronic components, a property library of logical validations, and a set of restrictions for an execution environment of the electronic components, wherein each of the electronic components is associated with at least one of the logical validations; determining that, according to properties in the property library applied to their associated electronic components, a subset of the electronic components exhibit invariance within the execution environment; based on the subset of the electronic components that exhibit invariance within the execution environment, rewiring the connectivity between the plurality of electronic components; and performing logic synthesis on the connectivity between the plurality of electronic components as rewired to simplify at least some of the subset of the electronic components that exhibit invariance within the execution environment.