Generating integrated circuit floorplan layouts
First Claim
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1. A method of designing an integrated circuit (IC), the method comprising:
- (A) defining a plurality of functional blocks for the IC, wherein at least one functional block of said plurality is an empty functional block;
(B) specifying connectivity and one or more constraints for said plurality of functional blocks; and
(C) performing placement and routing processing for said plurality of functional blocks based on the specified connectivity and the specified one or more constraints to generate a layout for the IC, wherein;
said placement and routing processing comprises at least one of;
moving an empty functional block of said plurality within a boundary box corresponding to the IC; and
changing at least one of shape, boundary length, and aspect ratio of an empty functional block of said plurality; and
wherein, the method is implemented using an apparatus configured to run a computer-aided design tool.
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Abstract
A method of generating a floorplan layout of an integrated circuit (IC) that is amenable to implementation in a computer-aided design tool. The method is capable of performing placement and routing processing for the IC while requiring very little information about the specific circuitry used in various functional blocks of the IC. For example, at the time of the placement and routing processing, one or more functional blocks of the IC can be specified as empty functional blocks and/or functional blocks that are only partially rendered in gates.
28 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of designing an integrated circuit (IC), the method comprising:
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(A) defining a plurality of functional blocks for the IC, wherein at least one functional block of said plurality is an empty functional block; (B) specifying connectivity and one or more constraints for said plurality of functional blocks; and (C) performing placement and routing processing for said plurality of functional blocks based on the specified connectivity and the specified one or more constraints to generate a layout for the IC, wherein; said placement and routing processing comprises at least one of; moving an empty functional block of said plurality within a boundary box corresponding to the IC; and changing at least one of shape, boundary length, and aspect ratio of an empty functional block of said plurality; and wherein, the method is implemented using an apparatus configured to run a computer-aided design tool. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification