Abstract: There is disclosed systems and processes for optimizing circuit descriptions by reducing clock skew, re-organizing and/or converting gated and generated clock circuits, and reconnecting clock nets and other related nets. A transformed circuit design may be produced from an initial circuit design and having a reduced number of secondary clocks and a reduced amount of clock skew.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for transient analyses of a circuit using a hierarchical approach. In one embodiment, the cells are grouped locally on the power supply network according to average power dissipation. A time varying current of each cell group is estimated using a probabilistic approach to represent the cell group so that the probability of a more severe waveform for the current of the cell group is under a certain level. For example, the cells in a group are partitioned as switching cells and non-switching cells using cell toggle rates for the determination of the time varying current. The circuit model of the power supply network includes the current sources according to the estimated time varying currents for the cell groups, the power supply wire resistance, the power supply to ground wire capacitance, well capacitance and the de-coupling capacitance from non-switching cells.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for designing an integrated circuit. In one example of a method, a hardware description language (HDL) code is compiled to produce a technology independent RTL (register transfer level) netlist. A portion of an area of the IC is allocated to a specific portion of the technology independent RTL netlist. In a typical implementation of this method, the allocation restricts circuitry created from the specific portion to the portion of the IC.

Abstract: Methods and systems for optimizing and/or designing integrated circuits. One exemplary method includes routing, as part of a process of designing an integrated circuit (IC), connections on a representation of the IC using a first set of wiring resources and marking wiring resources as used once the wiring resources within the first set have been used for routing and routing, using a second set of wiring resources in the representation, connections on the IC without checking whether wiring resources within the second set have been previously used to route connections, wherein wiring resources in the second set differ, on average, in physical size, from wiring resources in the first set. Other methods and systems for optimizing and/or designing ICs are also described, and machine-readable media containing executable program instructions which cause systems to perform one or more of these methods are also described.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for incremental circuit partitioning and incremental trace assignment. In one embodiment of the present invention, a cost function based on both the partitioning solution and the trace assignment solution is used for the partitioning of a circuit; in reducing the cost function, blocks of circuits are moved among partitions and the trace assignment are updated accordingly to evaluate the cost function. In one embodiment, the traces and nets are grouped according to the partitions they connect for trace assignment. In one embodiment, a flow diagram is constructed for assigning nets to traces; and, maximum flow algorithms are used. In one embodiment, a flow diagram includes feedthrough solutions, in which flow conservation is not preserved at certain nodes. In one embodiment, integer linear programming techniques are used for assigning nets to traces.

Abstract: A method and system for debugging using replicated logic and trigger logic is described. A representation of a circuit is compiled. One or more signals are selected for triggering and trigger logic is inserted into the circuit. A portion of the circuit is selected for replication. The selected portion of the circuit is replicated and delay logic is inserted to delay the inputs into the replicated portion of the circuit. The representation of the circuit is recompiled and programmed into a hardware device. A debugger may then be invoked. One or more of the triggering signals are selected. For each selected triggering signal, one or more states are selected to setup a trigger condition. The hardware device may then be run. The replicated portion of the circuit will be paused when the trigger condition occurs. The states of registers in the replicated portion of the circuit and the sequence of steps that led to the trigger condition may then be recorded.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses to time-share resources having internal states are described. A first design of a system having a plurality of instances of a logical block to perform logical operations is received. The instances may have internal states. The system is automatically transformed to generate a second design having a fewer quantity of time-shared instances of the logical block. The plurality of the instances in the first design is replaced with the fewer time-shared instances in the second design. The time-shared instances in the second design have elements to time multiplex the internal states.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses to automatically modify a circuit design (e.g., a synthesis solution) according to the sensitivity in design parameters with respect to the possible deviation in the subsequent implementation (e.g., placement and routing) of the circuit. In one aspect of the present invention, a method to design a circuit includes: determining likelihood of a design constraint being violated in an implementation of a first circuit design (e.g., a technology specific netlist with or without a placement solution); and, modifying the first circuit design to reduce the likelihood of the design constraint being violated. In one example, the implementation of the first circuit design includes a routing solution for implementing the first circuit design; and, the first circuit is modified through sizing an instance of a logic element, buffering a signal, load shielding for a signal, or other operations.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses to automatically generate time multiplexed multi-channel circuits from single-channel circuits. At least one embodiment of the present invention automatically and efficiently synthesize multi-channel hardware for time-multiplexed resource sharing by automatically generating a time multiplexed design of multi-channel circuits from the design of a single-channel circuit. Channel specific elements of the single-channel design (e.g., registers and memories) are replaced with corresponding elements of N-times more capacity for pipelining the signal processing for multiple channels.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses to design and analyze digital circuits with time division multiplexing. At least one embodiment of the present invention efficiently models subsystems connected by a TDM channel by introducing equivalent delays in the connections for the subsystems, where the delays are determined according to the upper bounds of the delays caused by the TDM channel. The TDM channel is modeled with its equivalent delays. Thus, a transformation tool is allowed to take into account the original constraints and time budgeting of the sending subsystem and the receiving subsystem. The problem of asynchronous clock domains is eliminated; and, simulation time of the multiplexed circuit is also improved. In some embodiments of the present invention, multiple TDM slots are assigned to a particular signal to reduce the equivalent connection delay caused by the TDM channel for the particular signal.

Abstract: There is disclosed systems and processes for optimizing circuit descriptions by reducing clock skew, re-organizing and/or converting gated and generated clock circuits, and reconnecting clock nets and other related nets. A transformed circuit design may be produced from an initial circuit design and having a reduced number of secondary clocks and a reduced amount of clock skew.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses to design an Integrated Circuit (IC) with a shielding of wires. In at least one embodiment, a shielding mesh of at least two reference voltages (e.g., power and ground) is used to reduce both the capacitive coupling and the inductive coupling in routed signal wires in IC chips. In some embodiments, a type of shielding mesh (e.g., a shielding mesh with a window surrounded by a power ring, or a window with a parser set of shielding wires) is selected to make more routing area available in locally congested areas. In other embodiments, the shielding mesh is used to create or add bypass capacitance. Other embodiments are also disclosed.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses to estimate delay for logic circuit optimization using back annotated placement and delay data. In one aspect of the invention, a method to design a logic circuit, the method includes: modifying a first path that is back annotated with first placement information and first delay information to generate a second path; and calculating a signal delay on the second path from second placement information for the second path, the first placement information and the first delay information (or, computing an adjustment to the first delay information from second placement information for the second path and the first placement information). In one example according to this aspect, the first placement information and the first delay information are back annotated from a timing analysis based on placing and routing at least the first path. An actual route is determined from the first placement information in calculating the signal delay.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for enforcing terms of a licensing agreement between a plurality of parties involved in a particular hardware design through the use of hardware technologies. According to one embodiment, a hardware sub-design includes a license verification sub-design that is protected from user modification by encryption. In one embodiment, a license is generated based on a trusted host identifier within an external hardware device. In one embodiment, each trusted host identifier is unique, and no two integrated circuits share the same trusted host identifier. In another embodiment, the integrated circuit is a field programmable gate array or an application specific integrated circuit. In one embodiment, a license determines how long the hardware sub-design will operate when the hardware sub-design is implemented within an integrated circuit having a trusted host identifier.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses to automatically synthesize circuits. In one aspect of an embodiment, a logic function feeding a carry chain is implemented through extending the carry chain and through using the extended portion of the carry chain. In one aspect of an embodiment, control/non-control loads are separated from each other through replicating the driver elements of the mixed control/non-control loads. In one aspect of an embodiment, a read only memory (ROM) is implemented using a random access memory (RAM). In one embodiment, a register at the input side of the ROM is generated through inserting a register that is clocked at an inverted clock signal or through retiming a register from the output side of the ROM.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for designing a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs) from a language representation of hardware. In one example of a method, a technology independent RTL (register transfer level) netiist is partitioned between representations of a plurality of ICs. In a typical example of the method, a hardware description language (HDL) code is written and compiled without regard to splitting the design among multiple ICs. After compilation, a partition of the technology independent RTL netlist, obtained from the compilation, is performed among the multiple ICs. After a partition, the technology independent RTL netlist is mapped to a particular target technology (e.g. a particular IC vendor's architecture for implementing logic circuitry), and place and route tools may be used to create the design in multiple ICs (e.g. field programmable gate arrays).

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for transient analyses of a circuit using a hierarchical approach. In one embodiment, the cells are grouped locally on the power supply network according to average power dissipation. A time varying current of each cell group is estimated using a probabilistic approach to represent the cell group so that the probability of a more severe waveform for the current of the cell group is under a certain level. For example, the cells in a group are partitioned as switching cells and non-switching cells using cell toggle rates for the determination of the time varying current. The circuit model of the power supply network includes the current sources according to the estimated time varying currents for the cell groups, the power supply wire resistance, the power supply to ground wire capacitance, well capacitance and the de-coupling capacitance from non-switching cells.

Abstract: A resetable memory is described that includes a memory without reset capability having a data output coupled to a first input of a first multiplexer. A second input of the first multiplexer has a reset value input. A channel select for the first multiplexer is coupled to a resetable storage cell output that indicates whether a storage cell within the memory without reset capability has been written to after a reset or has not been written to after a reset.