Automated optimization of hierarchical netlists
US5956257A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 31, 1993 |
| Grant date | Sep 21, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 31, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F30/327
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method of automatically optimizing a hierarchical netlist of integrated circuit cells comprising at least one upper-level cell containing a multiplicity of subsidiary cells of lower hierachical level includes receiving data defining said netlist and timing constraints for it, and establishing abstract timing models for all the subsidiary cells. Timing constraints are propagated to at least one selected subsidiary cell and this cell is optimized by means of a flat optimizer to produced an optimized version of the selected subsidiary cell. The optimized version of the selected cell is inserted into the netlist. The timing constraints denote arrival times for signals at inputs of a cell and required times for signals at outputs of a cell and each abstract timing model of a cell comprises timing parameters which enable a delay time between a specified input of a cell to a specified output of a cell to be computed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.