Method for automating the placement of a repeater device in an optimal location, considering pre-defined blockages, in high frequency very large scale integration/ultra large scale integration (vlsi/ulsi) electronic designs

Abstract

A method (and a system for using the method) for placing a semiconductor circuit device between a driver and one or more receivers on the floor space of a chip. The method includes the steps of: determining respective distances between the driver and each of the one or more receivers; determining a shortest of the distances; determining midpoint along the shortest distance; determining whether the midpoint is predesignated to the floor space of one or more blocking semiconductor circuit devices; placing the repeater at the midpoint if the midpoint is not predesignated to the one or more blocking semiconductor circuit devices; and applying a backoff algorithm to incrementally back away from the midpoint to an optimal location, and placing the repeater at the optimal location, if the midpoint is predesignated to the one or more blocking semiconductor circuit devices. The method can also include the steps of: determining whether the to be placed semiconductor circuit device can be placed at a set of incremental locations located along one or more axes away from the midpoint; and placing the to be placed semiconductor circuit device at one of the one or more acceptable incremental locations. The step of determining the set of incremental locations can be performed in a spiral pattern away from the midpoint. The semiconductor circuit device to be placed can be, for example, a repeater along the path of a net (length of wire) to regenerate a propagated signal.