Corner Block List Representation and Its Application to Floorplan Optimization

Abstract

We propose to use a corner block list (CBL) representation for mosaic floorplans. In a mosaic floorplan, each room has only one block assigned to it. Thus, there is a unique corner room on the top right corner of the chip. Corner block deletion and corner block insertion keep the floorplan mosaic. Through a recursive deletion process, a mosaic floorplan can be converted to a representation that is named as CBL. Given a CBL, it takes only linear time to construct the floorplan. The CBL is used for the application to very large-scale integration floorplan and building block placement. We adopt a simulated annealing process for the optimization. Soft blocks and the aspect ratio of the chip are taken into account in the optimization process. The experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm is quite promising.