The coming of age of physical synthesis

Physical synthesis, the integration of logic synthesis with physical design information, was born in the mid to late 1990s, which means it is about to enter its teenage years. Today, physical synthesis tools are a major part of the EDA industry, accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. This work looks at how technology and design trends have affected physical synthesis over the last decade and also how physical synthesis will continue to evolve on its way to adulthood.