Statistically aware buffer planning

In this paper, we will develop an analytic approach to estimate the statistical properties (mean and variance) of the performance of a uniformly buffered global IC interconnect, based on the mean and (co)variance of the appropriate design and technology parameters. Compared to other approaches, such as Monte Carlo based approaches, our analytic approach would allow a much tighter design optimization loop and provide a better insight in the factors involved. The model that we use is generic, but in this paper we assume a set of synthetic (not based on actual process data) but realistically large values for the variability of the input parameters. Under these assumptions, it follows that solutions for the area/power/performance tradeoff that are optimal in a deterministic setting, might suffer from excessive variability, potentially leading to a yield problem.