Presentation
Opt-MC: A Graph-based Placement and Routing Algorithm for Optimizing Macro Cell Design
DescriptionThe design of macro cells is a highly manual and time-consuming process. It represents a significant challenge, as it requires the consideration of numerous design variables and constraints, as well as the exploration of trade-off relationships to achieve an optimal design. Over the past decade, a lot of research has been conducted to develop automated and optimized macro cell designs. However, it had limited performance in terms of unit area and routing success rate. In this paper, we propose a novel graph-based placement and routing methodology for designing macro cells. In order to design macro cells with optimal area, we introduce a Recursive Multi-Level Steiner Tree methodology, as well as a placement methodology based on hypergraph partitioning and combinatorial optimization. The proposed method resulted in an average area reduction of 7.8 percent compared to the manual results obtained by layout experts, with a maximum reduction of 30.8 percent. With regard to routing quality, the proposed method achieved LVS and DRC clear for all macro cells and demonstrated a significant average reduction of 40.2 percent in Metal1 track usage, with a maximum reduction of 87.3 percent. In conclusion, the implementation of the proposed optimization process for the macro cell can reduce the time to design from 2.96 person-months to 1 person-month.
Event Type
Networking
Work-in-Progress Poster
TimeMonday, June 236:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
LocationLevel 2 Lobby