US 8,527,927 B2 · Zone-based area recovery in electronic design automation

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a system that facilitates the creation of a design in an electronic design automation (EDA) application. During operation, the system determines a processing order for processing a set of cells in the design. In some embodiments, the processing order can be a reverse-levelized processing order. Next, the system may select a cell for performing area recovery according to the processing order. The system may then tentatively perform an area-recovery operation on the selected cell. Next, the system may determine a zone around the selected cell. Next, the system may propagate arrival times within the zone to obtain updated slack values at endpoints of the zone. The system may compute one or more timing metrics at the endpoints. If the updated slack values do not degrade the timing metric(s) at the endpoints, the system may accept the area-recovery operation of the selected cell.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A computer-implemented method for facilitating the creation of a design in an electronic design automation (EDA) application, comprising:

determining a reverse-levelized cell processing order for processing a set of cells in the design wherein the reverse-levelized cell processing order begins by processing cells whose outputs are the design's timing endpoints, and wherein each subsequent level of cells that is processed in the reverse-levelized cell processing order comprises cells that have at least one output that is electrically connected to at least one input of a cell in the immediately preceding level of cells according to a reverse-levelized cell order from the design's timing endpoints to the design's timing startpoints;
and
performing, by computer, area recovery on the set of cells according to the processing order.

A system for facilitating the creation of a design in an electronic design automation (EDA) application, comprising:

an ordering apparatus configured to determine a processing order for processing a set of cells in the design according to a reverse-levelized cell wherein the reverse-levelized cell processing order begins by processing cells whose outputs are the design's timing endpoints, and wherein each subsequent level of cells that is processed in the reverse-levelized cell processing order comprises cells that have at least one output that is electrically connected to at least one input of a cell in the immediately preceding level of cells order from the design's timing endpoints to the design's timing startpoints;
and
an area-recovery apparatus configured to perform area recovery on the set of cells according to the processing order.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for facilitating the creation of a design in an electronic design automation (EDA) application, the method comprising:

determining a processing order for processing a set of cells in the design according to a reverse-levelized cell order wherein the reverse-levelized cell processing order begins by processing cells whose outputs are the design's timing endpoints, and wherein each subsequent level of cells that is processed in the reverse-levelized cell processing order comprises cells that have at least one output that is electrically connected to at least one input of a cell in the immediately preceding level of cells from the design's timing endpoints to the design's timing startpoints;
and
performing area recovery on the set of cells according to the processing order.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Zone-based area recovery in electronic design automation

Life of this patent

Zone-based area recovery in electronic design automation

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims21