Circuit layout

This paper gives a general overview of circuit layout, taking a unified approach to various styles of integrated circuits, printed circuit boards, and hybrid circuits. A lot of attention is given to the layout of large and complicated circuits, in particular, to the layout of very-large-scale-integration (VLSI) chips. Though the paper is an overview, and one could almost say a tutorial, it is intended for readers with some basic knowledge of what a circuit layout is and what some of the basic problems are. The main subjects discussed are: assignment of gates, placement methods, loose routing, final routing, and problems associated with the implementation of a hierarchical system. The emphasis is on new, not widely published methods, and on methods that seem to have potential for solving some of the current problems. Practical examples illustrate this rather personal account of circuit layout and sugsest where we may go from here.