A methodology for the simultaneous design of supply and signal networks

We present an early-stage global wire-design methodology that simultaneously considers the performance needs for both signal lines and power grids under congestion considerations. An iterative procedure is employed in which the global routing is performed according to a congestion map that includes the resource utilization of the power grid, followed by a step in which the power grid is adjusted to relax the congestion in crowded regions. This adjustment is in the form of wire removal in noncritical regions, followed by a wire-sizing step that overcomes the voltage noise after wire removal and a wire-width resizing that meets the maximum current-density constraint. Experimental results show that the overall routability can be significantly improved while the power-grid noise is maintained within both the voltage-drop and current-density constraints.