Patents by Inventor Patrick Vuillod

Patrick Vuillod has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11669665
    Abstract: A logic network for an integrated circuit is synthesized as follows. The logic network is mapped to a network of lookup tables (LUTs). The LUT mapping is based at least in part on estimated areas of the LUTs. The individual LUTs in the network are improved (LUT optimization), for example using various Boolean optimization techniques. The network of improved LUTs is then reduced to a gate-level netlist of standard cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Luca Gaetano Amaru, Vinicius Neves Possani, Eleonora Testa, Felipe dos Santos Marranghello, Christopher Casares, Jiong Luo, Patrick Vuillod
  • Publication number: 20220300688
    Abstract: A system receives a logic design of a circuit of an integrated circuit and apply a reduced synthesis process to the logical design of the integrated circuit. The reduced synthesis process is less computation intensive compared to the optimized digital implementation synthesis process and generates a netlist having suboptimal delay. The system provides the generated netlist as input to a timing analysis that alters the standard delay computation (through scaling and other means) to predict the timing of a fully optimized netlist. The reduced synthesis process has faster execution time compared to the optimized digital implementation synthesis process but results in comparable performance, power and area that is within a threshold of the results generated using optimized digital implementation synthesis process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2022
    Publication date: September 22, 2022
    Inventors: Peter Moceyunas, Jiong Luo, Luca Amaru, The Casey, Jovanka Ciric Vujkovic, Patrick Vuillod
  • Patent number: 11120184
    Abstract: A system and method for SAT-sweeping is disclosed. According to one embodiment, a method includes determining gate classes by inputting simulation patterns to gates in an integrated circuit design, selecting a candidate gate based on an inverse topological ordering of the gates, and then selecting a driver gate belonging to the same gate class as the candidate gate. A SAT-solver is called based on the candidate gate and the driver gate to confirm equivalence. The candidate gate and the driver gate are then merged in the integrated circuit design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Luca Gaetano Amaru, Jiong Luo, Patrick Vuillod
  • Patent number: 11010511
    Abstract: Techniques and systems for optimizing a logic network are described. Some embodiments automatically identify scenarios where Boolean methods are best driven by truth tables, binary decision diagrams (BDDs) or satisfiability (SAT). Some embodiments use circuit partitioning techniques that are based on hash-tables and topological sorting, and that are capable of grouping nodes with high simplification likelihood and still are able to efficiently scale to large circuits. Some embodiments feature a generalized resubstitution framework based on computing, and implementing, the Boolean difference between two nodes. Some embodiments include enhancements to (i) gradient-based and-inverter-graph (AIG) optimization, (ii) heterogeneous elimination for kerneling, and (iii) revisitation of maximum set of permissible functions (MSPF) computation with BDDs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Luca Gaetano Amaru, Eleonora Testa, Patrick Vuillod, Jiong Luo
  • Publication number: 20200394352
    Abstract: A system and method for SAT-sweeping is disclosed. According to one embodiment, a method includes determining gate classes by inputting simulation patterns to gates in an integrated circuit design, selecting a candidate gate based on an inverse topological ordering of the gates, and then selecting a driver gate belonging to the same gate class as the candidate gate. A SAT-solver is called based on the candidate gate and the driver gate to confirm equivalence. The candidate gate and the driver gate are then merged in the integrated circuit design.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2020
    Publication date: December 17, 2020
    Inventors: Luca Gaetano AMARU, Jiong LUO, Patrick VUILLOD
  • Patent number: 10839117
    Abstract: Robust logic optimization on an IC design based on exclusive sum-of-products (ESOP) refactoring is described. ESOP expressions are two-level logic representation forms, similar to sum-of-product SOP representations. However, since ESOPs use exclusive-OR (XOR) instead of OR operators they can be exponentially more compact than sum-of-product (SOP) expressions for important classes of functions. In XOR heavy logic, ESOP expressions allow us to find optimizations that SOPs simply do not have access to.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Luca Gaetano Amaru, Patrick Vuillod, Jiong Luo, Winston J. Haaswijk
  • Patent number: 10740517
    Abstract: Systems and techniques are described for circuit optimization using Boolean resynthesis. Features described in this disclosure include (i) a theory of Boolean filtering, to drastically reduce the number of gates processed and still retain all possible optimization opportunities, (ii) a weaker notion of maximum set of permissible functions, which can be computed efficiently via truth tables, (iii) a parallel package for truth table computation tailored to speedup Boolean methods, (iv) a generalized refactoring engine which supports multiple representation forms and (v) a Boolean resynthesis flow, which combines these techniques.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Luca Gaetano Amaru, Patrick Vuillod, Jiong Luo
  • Publication number: 20200074019
    Abstract: Techniques and systems for optimizing a logic network are described. Some embodiments automatically identify scenarios where Boolean methods are best driven by truth tables, binary decision diagrams (BDDs) or satisfiability (SAT). Some embodiments use circuit partitioning techniques that are based on hash-tables and topological sorting, and that are capable of grouping nodes with high simplification likelihood and still are able to efficiently scale to large circuits. Some embodiments feature a generalized resubstitution framework based on computing, and implementing, the Boolean difference between two nodes. Some embodiments include enhancements to (i) gradient-based and-inverter-graph (AIG) optimization, (ii) heterogeneous elimination for kerneling, and (iii) revisitation of maximum set of permissible functions (MSPF) computation with BDDs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2019
    Publication date: March 5, 2020
    Applicant: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Luca Gaetano Amaru, Eleonora Testa, Patrick Vuillod, Jiong Luo
  • Patent number: 10325051
    Abstract: Systems and techniques for optimizing an integrated circuit (IC) design are described. A logic-function identifier can be determined based on a fan-in combinational-logic-cone, wherein the logic-function identifier corresponds to a logic function that is implemented by the fan-in combinational-logic-cone. An arrival-time-pattern identifier can be determined based on a set of arrival times at inputs of the fan-in combinational-logic-cone. An optimized combinational-logic-cone can be obtained by performing, in addition to optionally other operations, a database lookup by using the logic-function identifier and the arrival-time-pattern identifier. Next, the fan-in combinational-logic-cone can be replaced with the optimized combinational-logic-cone in the IC design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2019
    Assignee: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Luca Gaetano Amaru, Patrick Vuillod, Jiong Luo
  • Publication number: 20180239846
    Abstract: Systems and techniques for optimizing an integrated circuit (IC) design are described. A logic-function identifier can be determined based on a fan-in combinational-logic-cone, wherein the logic-function identifier corresponds to a logic function that is implemented by the fan-in combinational-logic-cone. An arrival-time-pattern identifier can be determined based on a set of arrival times at inputs of the fan-in combinational-logic-cone. An optimized combinational-logic-cone can be obtained by performing, in addition to optionally other operations, a database lookup by using the logic-function identifier and the arrival-time-pattern identifier. Next, the fan-in combinational-logic-cone can be replaced with the optimized combinational-logic-cone in the IC design.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2018
    Publication date: August 23, 2018
    Applicant: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Luca Gaetano Amaru, Patrick Vuillod, Jiong Luo
  • Patent number: 10049174
    Abstract: Systems and techniques for optimizing timing of an integrated circuit (IC) design are described. A logic-function identifier can be determined based on a fan-in combinational-logic-cone, wherein the logic-function identifier corresponds to a logic function that is implemented by the fan-in combinational-logic-cone. An arrival-time-pattern identifier can be determined based on a set of arrival times at inputs of the fan-in combinational-logic-cone. A database lookup can be performed based on the logic-function identifier and the arrival-time-pattern identifier to obtain an optimized combinational-logic-cone. Next, the fan-in combinational-logic-cone can be replaced with the optimized combinational-logic-cone in the IC design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Luca Gaetano Amaru, Patrick Vuillod, Jiong Luo
  • Publication number: 20180173818
    Abstract: Systems and techniques for optimizing timing of an integrated circuit (IC) design are described. A logic-function identifier can be determined based on a fan-in combinational-logic-cone, wherein the logic-function identifier corresponds to a logic function that is implemented by the fan-in combinational-logic-cone. An arrival-time-pattern identifier can be determined based on a set of arrival times at inputs of the fan-in combinational-logic-cone. A database lookup can be performed based on the logic-function identifier and the arrival-time-pattern identifier to obtain an optimized combinational-logic-cone. Next, the fan-in combinational-logic-cone can be replaced with the optimized combinational-logic-cone in the IC design.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2016
    Publication date: June 21, 2018
    Applicant: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Luca Gaetano Amaru, Patrick Vuillod, Jiong Luo
  • Patent number: 8549448
    Abstract: Aspect of the technology are a method of designing a circuit layout and corresponding computer systems and nontransitory computer media. The circuit layout is for use in forming a lithographic mask set for use in fabricating an integrated circuit. In the method the computer system divides a synthesized circuit design into cell partitions along critical paths of the synthesized circuit design. The computer system associates pins of the plurality of cell partitions with normalized pin timing values. The normalized pin timing values store magnitude differences between a reference timing slack and timing slacks of the plurality of pins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Patrick Vuillod, Jean-Christophe Madre
  • Publication number: 20110010680
    Abstract: Aspect of the technology are a method of designing a circuit layout and corresponding computer systems and nontransitory computer media. The circuit layout is for use in forming a lithographic mask set for use in fabricating an integrated circuit. In the method the computer system divides a synthesized circuit design into cell partitions along critical paths of the synthesized circuit design. The computer system associates pins of the plurality of cell partitions with normalized pin timing values. The normalized pin timing values store magnitude differences between a reference timing slack and timing slacks of the plurality of pins.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Publication date: January 13, 2011
    Applicant: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Patrick Vuillod, Jean-Christophe Madre