editor's blog
Subscribe Now

IC Compiler Reinvented

What if you could just… toss it all and start over? (OK, maybe all except the router?)

If you’re Synopsys, you now know: you’d end up with IC Compiler II.

They’ve had a good ride with IC Compiler, and they continue to ride that. But things have changed a lot since it appeared on the scene. Requirements and expectations have mushroomed, and they’ve done a lot of new research and acquired a lot of technology (apparently their Magma acquisition fed into this). And so they’ve pretty much replaced everything in IC Compiler except the router.

The new approach pushes planning to a much earlier stage. Engines have been completely redone, with an emphasis on the ability to use multiple processors, which means that more options can be explored. They use that magic number “10x” for many of the speedups. Not only that, but their optimization engines are better at finding a global optimum in an analytical fashion rather than via the alternative: generating a bazillion options and picking the best one.

More specifically, they address the following areas:

  • Infrastructure
    • Hierarchy is handled natively.
    • They have a new timer and extractor that are used consistently throughout.
    • They can deal with incomplete data early in the design cycle.
    • They’ve implemented an integrated library and management approach.
  • Planning
    • They’ve implemented adaptive abstraction and modeling.
    • They support transparent multiple instances.
    • What-if analysis can be done in real time instead of having to compile.
    • A floorplan can be automatically synthesized.
  • Implementation
    • This is where they have the new multi-threaded optimization engine that analytically finds global optima.
    • They’ve redone their multi-corner, multi-mode, multi-voltage handling.
    • Placement and clock optimization now happen in a single step.
    • They’ve completely redone the clock tree synthesis engine.
    • They’ve put in place new ways to achieve closure after routing.

ICC_II_Graphic_Press2_red.jpg

At this point, the entire new system isn’t in place yet. They’ve got bits and pieces that they’ve been feeding to a few lead customers to refine things as they approach a mid-year full release.

They will continue to support the original IC Compiler well into the future. They see a gradual shift from one to the other; they’re not going to pull a Microsoft and force everyone over.

You can check out more in their announcement.

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Mar 24, 2023
With CadenceCONNECT CFD less than a month away, now is the time to make your travel plans to join us at the Santa Clara Convention Center on 19 April for our biggest CFD event of the year. As a bonus, CadenceCONNECT CFD is co-located with the first day of CadenceLIVE Silicon ...
Mar 23, 2023
Explore AI chip architecture and learn how AI's requirements and applications shape AI optimized hardware design across processors, memory chips, and more. The post Why AI Requires a New Chip Architecture appeared first on New Horizons for Chip Design....
Mar 10, 2023
A proven guide to enable project managers to successfully take over ongoing projects and get the work done!...

featured video

First CXL 2.0 IP Interoperability Demo with Compliance Tests

Sponsored by Synopsys

In this video, Sr. R&D Engineer Rehan Iqbal, will guide you through Synopsys CXL IP passing compliance tests and demonstrating our seamless interoperability with Teladyne LeCroy Z516 Exerciser. This first-of-its-kind interoperability demo is a testament to Synopsys' commitment to delivering reliable IP solutions.

Learn more about Synopsys CXL here

featured chalk talk

Machine Learning at the Edge: Applications and Challenges
Machine learning at the TinyEdge is the way of the future but how we incorporate machine learning into our designs can take a variety of different forms. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia chats with Dan Kozin from Silicon Labs about how you can add machine learning to your next design. They investigate what machine learning workflows look like, what machine learning tools you can utilize and the key challenges you will encounter as a machine learning developer.
Oct 20, 2022
20,310 views