Shaping Integrated with Power Network Synthesis for Grid Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electronic design automation, aligning power grids with physical partitions in integrated circuit designs is challenging, especially when multiple instances of physical partitions with different orientations are involved, making it difficult to create a consistent power network during the power network synthesis step.
Innovation Solution
Integrating the shaping engine with the power network synthesis engine to generate placement constraints based on user-specified power grid strategies, alignment options, and metal layer information, ensuring that physical partitions are aligned with the power grid, and optimizing the orientation of macro and standard cells to create a symmetrical power network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If shaping is performed much before power network synthesis (PNS), then the shaping step can be completed early in the design flow, but it becomes very difficult to create a power grid network that is consistent with the shapes, sizes, and locations of the physical partitions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing shaping operations before power network synthesis, but enhances this by using the determined physical partition information to guide subsequent power grid creation. The shaping step establishes physical partitions with specific shapes, sizes, and locations early in the design flow, and this information is then used by the PNS step to create a consistent power grid network that aligns with these predetermined partitions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple instances of physical partitions with different orientations are used, then the circuit design can be more versatile and functional, but it becomes difficult to create a consistent power network during power network synthesis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different physical partitions to have different orientations and characteristics based on their specific functional requirements. Each partition instance can be optimized for its local needs while the overall power grid is synthesized to accommodate these variations. The system creates placement constraints that are specific to each partition's orientation and location, enabling versatile circuit design without uniformly constraining all partitions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter changes by dynamically adjusting placement constraints based on the orientation and characteristics of different physical partition instances. The shaping engine modifies placement parameters such as orientation angles, positions, and dimensional constraints to accommodate multiple instances with different configurations. This allows the power network synthesis to adapt to varying partition parameters while maintaining overall consistency.
3Manufacturing precision
If the shaping engine is integrated with power network synthesis engine, then accurate alignment between physical partitions and power grid can be achieved, but the system complexity and integration requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by integrating the shaping engine with the power network synthesis engine into a unified system. This integration allows the two previously separate steps to exchange information and coordinate their operations. The combined system uses placement constraints generated by the shaping engine to guide the power grid synthesis, ensuring accurate alignment between physical partitions and the power grid network while reducing the need for manual intervention and iteration.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments are described in which shaping is integrated with power network synthesis (PNS) for power grid (PG) alignment. Specifically, some embodiments create placement constraints based on the PG that is expected to be created by PNS, and then perform shaping (or perform legalization) on the circuit design based on the placement constraints. This ensures that the physical partitions (e.g., instances of multiply-instantiated-blocks) are aligned with the power grid during shaping.