A Database Approach to Communication in VLSI Design (original) (raw)

A structural representation for VLSI design

Design Automation Conference, 1988

This paper presents a data structure for representing the structure of VLSI circuits and basic operations for manipulating this data structure. Its features include conceptual integrity, rich expressive power, and high extensibility. It forms the nucleus of a design analysis and synthesis system which has been used to design several major chips.

Performance of Database Management Systems in VLSI Design

Database Engineering …, 1982

VLSI custom design involves the manipulation of large volumes of diverse interrelated data. The need to invest 4 to 30 man years for microprocessor design makes single-designer oriented methodologies infeasible Sch79]. The effort to communicate concepts and data ...

The Design of VLSI Design Methods

The Mead-Conway VLSI design and implementation methodologies were deliberately generated to be simple and accessible, and yet have wide coverage and efficiency in application. An overview is given of the methods used to "design the design methodology." We sketch the results and the status of these methods, and of the associated infrastructure of university courses, computer network communities, silicon implementation systems, and silicon foundries in the United States.

A methodology and design tools to support system-level VLSI design

IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems, 1995

System-level design involves making major design decisions without having accurate information on the eventual system characteristics. This paper presents a novel constraintdriven methodology to support system-level design. The software assists a designer or a tool in partitioning behavioral specifications onto multiple VLSI chips and in system design while satisfying hard constraints such as individual chip areas, chip pin counts, system throughput (inverse of system initiation interval) and system latency (delay). The software uses search and estimation techniques to perform comprehensive design-space exploration and evaluates partitions supplied by the user or by other synthesis software. The technique determines what design characteristics each partition must possess in order to satisfy area, pin, throughput and latency constraints. The paper also includes results of extensive experiments with the methodology.

Planning and managing top-down, concurrent VLSI design processes

1995

erating in the same design process; tracking of requirements throughout the various levels of abstraction traversed during the design process; and effective handling of sub-problem interactions in all of the above situations. All of these services are offered assuming the most complex scenario, i.e., a concurrent, distributed design environment.

An Extensible Object-Oriented Approach to Databases for VLSI/CAD

1985

This paper describes an approach to the specification and modeling of information associated with the design and evolution of VLSI components. The approach is characterized by combined structural and behavioral descriptions of a component. Database modeling requirements specific to the VLSI design domain are considered and techniques t.o address them are described.

From high-level descriptions to vlsi circuits

BIT, 1988

This paper presents a high-level language for describing VLS1 circuits designed as a collection of asynchronous concurrent processes. The notation is called "Synchronized Transitions," and it can be used to describe designs from very high levels of abstraction down to the gate level. Both synchronous and asynchronous/self-timed circuits can be described, and it is not necessary to choose a particular type of circuitry in the early phases of a design. "Synchronized Transitions" programs may be used for experimenting with (simulating) a design at several levels, e.g., to explore different high-level decisions or to verify the gate level design. By observing certain constraints in a "Synchronized Transitions" program, it is possible to systematically transform it into an efficient layout.

A Framework for Efficient IC/VLSI CAD Databases

1987

CAD databases have been used to store design data and to integrate design tools in K/VLSI design systems. However, the requirements for a "good" CAD database are much more complex than those for a conventional database. Due to both the complexity of various design processes and the enormous amount of data involved in a practical CAD database, we believe that a two-level hierarchical database including a global database and a set of local databases is necessary. In this paper, we propose a framework for such CAD databases. We concentrate on the overall system architecture.

Harnessing VLSI System Design with EDA Tools

2012

This chapter is meant to be a short introduction to the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) paradigm. The last decade has witnessed phenomenal growth in the number of R&D groups, corporate players, universities and research laboratories working in this exciting area up-and-coming as the hub of interdisciplinary activity. Increasing design complexities owing to the "more than Moore" phenomenon, added expected functionalities, shrinking design cycle and time to market window, more software centric designs are all the crucial factors forcing the EDA progression in diversified directions more than ever before. The intent of this chapter is also to make the reader familiar with the very rationale of the book, its organization and to set the basic foundations of its remaining chapters which exploit various flavors of different EDA tools to build live case studies of increasing complexities. 1.2 Prologue In the era of technology shrinkage of the order of ~0.7 per generation with 2× more functions per generations and declining cost of the functions by the same order; the Electronic Design Automation tools are at the forefront of the Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) design. Electronic Design Automation (EDA) is one of the key enablers of the semiconductor industry [1]. No chip is designed without EDA. Conversely, semiconductors drive EDA technology [2]. These EDA tools are now progressively more required to address the microscopic and macroscopic design issues. The former includes design concerns such as ever-increasing speed, more demand towards reduction in power supply and power dissipation, noise, crosstalk, interconnects and overall reliability aspects. While the later comprises of productivity challenges with the shrinking time to market window, different levels of abstractions Chapter 1

Managing VLSI complexity: An outlook

Proceedings of the IEEE, 2000

Absmct-The nature of complexity m the context of V U 1 circuits is examined, and simhities with the wmplexity problem in large softreviewed,andtheappli~tytoVLSIsystemsdeaignism~ted. mg from their twodimedarrlity md from the required intemmnectioasarediscuased Thepoaitive~tsofVLSIcompkxityasaway toincreaeperformancemdreducechipsizearereviewed.