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Initialize Floorplan

This tool initializes floorplan constraints, die/core area, and makes tracks.

Commands

- Parameters in square brackets `[-param param]` are optional.
- Parameters without square brackets `-param2 param2` are required.

Initialize Floorplan

Do note that there are two ways of setting the floorplan dimensions. The user can either specify manually die/core area, or specify the utilization/aspect ratio.

Method 1: Automatic die size calculation

initialize_floorplan
  [-utilization util]
  [-aspect_ratio ratio]
  [-core_space space | {bottom top left right}]
  [-sites site_name]
Options
Switch Name Description
-utilization Percentage utilization. Allowed values are double >0, more than 100% utilization can be useful with mock abstracts.
-aspect_ratio Ratio $\frac{height}{width}$. The default value is 1.0 and the allowed values are floats [0, 1.0].
-core_space Space around the core, default 0.0 microns. Allowed values are either one value for all margins or a set of four values, one for each margin. The order of the four values are: {bottom top left right}.
-sites Tcl list of sites to make rows for (e.g. {SITEXX, SITEYY})

Method 2: Set die/core area

initialize_floorplan
  [-die_area {llx lly urx ury}]
  [-core_area {llx lly urx ury}]
  [-additional_sites site_names]
  -site site_name
Options
Switch Name Description
-die_area Die area coordinates in microns (lower left x/y and upper right x/y coordinates).
-core_area Core area coordinates in microns (lower left x/y and upper right x/y coordinates).
-site The LEF site to make rows for.
-additional_sites Any additional LEF site to make rows.

The die area and core area used to write ROWs can be specified explicitly with the -die_area and -core_area arguments. Alternatively, the die and core areas can be computed from the design size and utilization as shown below:

The -site argument determines the basic single-height rows to make. For a hybrid row design the site should have a row pattern. Any sites referenced by an instance in the netlist will also have rows constructed for them.

Additional sites are specified if you wish to have rows for a site that is not used in the nelist but may be needed later. For example, you might not have any double height cells in the incoming netlist but you expect some to be generated by flop clustering later in the flow.

Example computation:

core_area = design_area / (utilization / 100)
core_width = sqrt(core_area / aspect_ratio)
core_height = core_width * aspect_ratio
core = ( core_space_left, core_space_bottom )
      ( core_space_left + core_width, core_space_bottom + core_height )
die =  ( 0, 0 )
      ( core_width + core_space_left + core_space_right,
        core_height + core_space_bottom + core_space_top )

Make Tracks

The initialize_floorplan command removes existing tracks.

Use the make_tracks command to add routing tracks to a floorplan.

make_tracks 
    [layer]
    [-x_pitch x_pitch]
    [-y_pitch y_pitch]
    [-x_offset x_offset]
    [-y_offset y_offset]

Options

Switch Name Description
layer Select layer name to make tracks for. Defaults to all layers.
-x_pitch, -y_pitch If set, overrides the LEF technology x-/y- pitch. Use the same unit as in the LEF file.
-x_offset, -y_offset If set, overrides the LEF technology x-/y- offset. Use the same unit as in the LEFT file.

Inserting tieoff cells

To insert tiecells:

insert_tiecells 
    tie_pin
    [-prefix inst_prefix]

Options

Switch Name Description
tie_pin Indicates the master and port to use to tie off nets. For example, LOGIC0_X1/Z for the Nangate45 library, where LOGIC0_X1 is the master and Z is the output port on the master.
-prefix Used to control the prefix of the new tiecell names. This will default to TIEOFF_.

Useful developer functions

If you are a developer, you might find these useful. More details can be found in the source file or the swig file.

Command Name Description
microns_to_mfg_grid Convert microns to manufacturing grid DBU.

Example scripts

Example scripts on running ifp for a sample design of mpd_top are as follows:

./test/upf_test.tcl

Regression tests

There are a set of regression tests in ./test. For more information, refer to this section.

Simply run the following script:

./test/regression

Limitations

FAQs

Check out GitHub discussion about this tool.

License

BSD 3-Clause License. See LICENSE file.