Patent · US Expired

Datapath synthesis method and apparatus utilizing a structured cell library

US5519627A · kind A · utility

131Cited by
13References
6Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 15, 1994
Grant dateMay 21, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 15, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F30/30
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A datapath circuit synthesizer converts an HDL circuit specification into a circuit netlist. The behavioral description of the specified circuit is divided into two distinct parts: datapath logic and control logic. The control logic is implemented in standard cells or gate arrays using a logic synthesizer. The datapath logic is optimally synthesized using a datapath synthesizer having a library of datapath elements, including both structural components and computational components, where some of the computational components are complex circuits having multiple, parallel outputs. Each computational component has associated therewith a set of one or more datapath expressions performed thereby. The received HDL circuit specification is converted into circuit data structures representing the circuit's datapath expressions and structural components. The datapath synthesizer locates all datapath elements in said library matching each such datapath expression and structural component. Then an optimizer determines which datapath expressions can be "combined", or performed by a single library element, so as to reduce the circuit layout area used. The optimizer can combine multiple datapath …

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.