ROUTING

References
PROBLEM FORMULATION
• 1. J.Soukup, “Fast Maze Router”, Proc. Design
Given a routing region R, a number of layers K, Automation Conference, 1978, pp.100-102.
a description of design rules DR, a set of nets • 2. M.Burnstein, R.Pelavin, “Hierarchical Wire
Routing”, IEEE Trans. on CAD, October 1983, pp.
N = {N1, N2, ... Nn} and (optional) a 223-234.
description of special requirements SR. The • 3. K.Mikami, K.Tabuchi, “A computer program for
goal is to find a set of interconnections which: optimal
p routing
g of p
printed circuit
connectors,”Proceedings
”P di off IFIP,
IFIP H47:1475-1478,1968.
H47 1475 1478 1968
A. Fit into the R ; • 4. E.S. Kuh and T. Ohtsuki, Recent advances in VLSI
layout, Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol.78, issue 2, Feb.
B. Connect all the nets N ; 1990, Page(s):237 – 263.
C. Fulfill the design rules DR ; • 5. L. McMurchie and C. Ebeling, “PathFinder: a
negotiation based performance-driven router for
D. Satisfy the SR. FPGAs”, Proc. of the ACM Conference on FPGAs,
pp. 111-117, February 1995

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Basic routing solutions

Basic routing problems
• Size complexity
– Big chips have an enormous number of wires (~1M)
– Not every wire takes an easy path to connect pins,
congestion may make path-finding hard
– It is essential to connect all nets
• Shape complexity
– In earlier years: grid representation which implied
positions for wires, vias and pins
– Now all wire geometries are feasible, complex design
rules
• Circuit timing
– Delays contributed by wires can’t be too big
• Size complexity
– Divide and conquer: don’t just solve one big problem
– Solve a sequence of routing problems that refine routing
– Start with global model of routing, end with detailed
routing
• Shape complexity
– Coarse routing steps are often gridded,
– Detailed routing steps: require some grid or are gridless.
• Circuit timing
– Placement must be good to make timing possible
– Account for timing using different abstractions of time
– Iteratively improve

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Overview of routing approaches Global routing

pins
• Early approaches to chip • Divide the routing area into
routing smaller regions 1
Cell A Cell B Cell A 1 Cell B
– Ideas from PC world • Decide through which 4 4
– 2 routing layers regions the wires will go, 2
– Had to route around objects, but not exactly where each
not over them wire will be 3
Wiring area
• Start with overall floorplan • The idea is to plan global 3
of placed chip paths for the wires, so we 3
Cell D Cell D
• Connect pins with Cell C know early we can fit them Cell C 2 2
interconnects placed in the all in each region.
regions left for routing.

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1
 Defining channels Row based placements
• Result of global routing: • Alternates logic and channel
– In each region we know which wiring
Cell A 1 1 Cell B
wires go through it and we – Routing in channels
know I/O pins 4 4
– Global routing determines
2 X4
– Typical decomposition for where row-spanning
ASICS is into rectangular 2 X3
3 signals cross the rows and
X
regions where
h th
the h
horizontal
i t l
– Signals only enter on 2 X3
3 segments are placed
opposite sides 3 Cell D
Cell C 2 2

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Routing: detailed routing Newer technologies

• Detailed routing follows global routing • Many layers of metal
– Finds actual shape and positions of wires – No need to put wires only
between the blocks on the chip Cell A Cell B
– Wires can be placed over
1 1 1
blocks of the chip
1
– Area routers are designed to
2 4 2 4 b good
be d att d
dealing
li with
ith Wiring area
3 4 3 4
obstacles
– Each region Cell D
2 2
4 4 modeled as Cell C
3 3 3 3 a grid of
legal wire
locations

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Timing constraints Detailed Routing

• Remains as a huge, somewhat open problem I. GENERAL METHODS can handle arbitrary
• Not uniquely a router problem routing problem and operate in sequential
– If placement is bad, wires can’t be short enough to fashion making 2-point connection at a time.
meet timing They guarantee finding a path between two
– Problems come from points if such a path exists. The basic path-
• Placement quality search algorithms are:
• Router 1. MAZE SEARCH ALGORITH
• Crosstalk 2. LINE SEARCH ALGORITHM
• Slow logic
– Many complex interdependencies
– Active problem

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 Classical maze-style area-routers Maze routing
• Strategy:
• Area router, not a region router – One net at a time
– Handles obstacles well – Optimize path – finds the best wiring path
– Results are sensitive to wire ordering • Problems:
• Can be used for g
global and detailed routing
g – Early wired nets may block paths of later nets
• Can handle gridless routing constraints – Optimal choice for one net may block later nets
• Can handle some timing constraints • Solutions:
– Careful net ordering
– Careful optimization to include impact on future
wiring
– Rip-up and re-route
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MAZE SEARCH ALGORITHM

1
1 A 1
2 1 2
2 1 A 1 Maze Router characteristics:
1 1 2
2

B B • Finds a path of minimum length.

• Finds a path, if one exists.
• Can p
process several layers.
y
3 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 • Nets routed sequentially: ordering needed.
2 1 A 1
1 2
5
6
7 8 9 10 11
8 8 10
A 5
6
• Large memory needed to store the grid.
4 3 2 3 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 7 8 9 10 11 12
5 4 8 13 13
6 5 6 10 9 10 11 B B
7 6 7 8 9 10 11 1213
8 7 8 9 10 11 13
9 10 11 12
12 11 10 11 12 13
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Maze router Maze router: concerns

• Storage:
• Three main steps:
– Do we really need a big grid to represent a big routing
– Expansion problem?
– Backtrace
– What information is required in each cell of the grid?
– Clean-up
• Complexity:
A key
k property t off maze search:h – Do we really have to search the whole grid each time
we add a wire?
label represents the distance from the source.
• Technology
– How to handle many layers?
It is a breadth-first search, grids closer to the
starting point are searched with higher – Complex wire widths and spacings.
preference.

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3
 Applications Improvements, extensions:
• Multi point nets
– One source – many targets • Window constraints.
• Strategy • Multi-terminal nets:
– Use maze router to find path from source to
nearest target
g chains, spanning trees, Steiner trees.
– Re-label all cells on this path as sources and re-run
maze router using all sources simultaneously
– Repeat for each segment

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Enhanced Search Toward the Target Hadlock’s minimum detour algorithm:

Maze algorithm: a special case of search New measure for labeling : detour number.
algorithms in graph theory. Search Let M(A, B) be the Manhattan distance between
techniques are capable of finding a path no A and B. P is a path connecting A and B. d(P) =
matter in which sequence the cells are
searched, the worst case running time is total number of grid points directed away from
O(N2) for N x N grid. the
h target. l(p)
l( ) = M(A
M(A, B) + 2d(P)
directed away
Speed improvement : advance wave fronts from B
with higher priority to target direction. A B d(P) = 4
M(A, B) = 6
l(P) = 6 + 2 * 4 =14

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P - path between A and B is the shortest path if Soukup’s fast maze search:
and only if d(P) is minimized among all paths
connecting A and B. M(A, B) is fixed. A combination of breadth-first search and
Algorithm: depth-first search.
Wave propagation modified such that: * line segment starting from the source is
* detour numbers with respect to a specified initially extended toward the target, cells
target
g are entered in searched empty
p y cells ; along the line are searched first.
* the cells with less detour numbers are * when
h the h li
line hi
hits an obstacle,
b l maze search h
expanded with higher priority used to search around the obstacle.
• Run time complexity O(N) to O(N )
2 * when a cell approaching a target is found,
depending on distribution of target-source another line segment starting there is
and obstacles. extended towards the target.
Shortest path guaranteed. Finds a path if it exists. Does not guarantee
that the shortest path is found.
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4
 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3
3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3
3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3
3 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 3
3 2 1 0 3
3 3 3
3 3

(b) minimum detour algorithm ( c) fast maze algorithm

Cells searched before target is reached.

(a) original Lee algorithm

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Routing Many Nets Negotiated Congestion

• The success of maze routing depends on the
order in which nets are routed • Basic algorithm
– Route signals along minimum cost path
– Rip-up and reroute may help but still depends on – If congestion/overuse
order; • assign higher cost to congested resources
– R&R may go into an infinite loop; – Repeat until done
– it is hard to come up with an effective rip-up • Key
K ididea
heuristic. – Congested paths/resources become expensive
– When there is freedom
• A more practical approach: • future routes, with freedom to avoid, will
– Negotiate the congestion – When there is less freedom
• have to take routes
– Routes which must use congested resources will, while
others will chose less congested paths

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Example
Mikami - Tabuchi Line search algorithm (0) intersecton point

Path sought between A and B. (1)

(1)
First 4 lines passing through A and B are generated. (1)
They extend up to the nearest obstacles, they are 0- (0) (1)
level lines. At each iteration: (1)
A
(0)
B
(1) Pick up trial lines of level (i) one after another along (1) (1)
each such line; trace all grid points (base points) and
generate new line segments for each of them: (i+1) - (1) (1) (1) (0) (1) (1) (0) (1) (1) (1)
level lines.
(2) If a trial line of level (i+1) intersects a trial line trial lines from A trial lines from B

originated from the other terminal points, then

backtrace from the point of intersection to both The Mikami-Tabuchi guarantees to find a path, if one exists.
terminals to generate paths. Appropriate level scheduling of trial lines yields a solution
(3) Otherwise, all trial lines of level (i+1) are stored. with minimum number of bends.
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5
 Global Routing
To handle complicated routing problems 2 levels
of hierarchy are introduced : The regions allocated for routing depend on the
layout style. There are 3 approaches to current
Global Routing layout design :
• gate array
Detailed Routing • standard cell
• building block

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Gate array and standard cell

Global routing amounts to assigning nets to

vertical avenues channels. The inter channel connections are
by means of vertical avenues on the sides or
}

} center of the chip and by feed throughs

between gates or cells in each row.
} horizontal
h i t l I gate
In t array channels
h l h
have fi
fixed
dhheight.
i ht IIn
channels
standard cell channels have unspecified
} heights and the aim is to minimize the sum of
channel heights.
}

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Sequential Routing
Optimization
The global routing can be formulated as an
optimization problem. To make it solvable we
make the following simplifying assumptions:

The most common approach is to route one net at a
time and choose the shortest path whenever possible.
* Route all nets independently, if some regions
become too crowded, reroute the nets which cause
congestion.
* Route nets sequentially and update the information
about routing regions after completing each net.
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A1. A net list contains 2-pin nets only.
A2. The shapes of routes are limited to few
possible patterns. Usually only 1 or 2 bends
per wire are allowed.
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 tj tj
tj tj
Integer programming Pj2

Pj1 Sj
Pj3
with assumptions A1, A2 the GR problem is: Sj
Sj Pj4
Sj
Given a net list L = { (s1, t1),..(sn, tn)}.
Associated with each terminal pair (sj, tj) is a set {Pjk }, k=1,2,..ιi
Let G = (V, E, w), and let each ei ∈ E be assigned of feasible paths, one of which must be used to join sj to tj. Let
an integer weight wi, i = 1, 2,..m; m = |E|
1 if Pjk is selected which uses ei
aijk =
wα = 3 0 otherwise
α
A solution to the problem can be specified by the indicator
variable
1 if Pjk is selected
xjk =
No more than wi of the n paths required to complete the 0 otherwise
routing use edge ei.
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Then: HIERARCHICAL DECOMPOSITION

Xjk ≥ 0 j = 1, 2, .. n; k = 1, 2, .. ι Avoids net ordering, decisions are applied at
(ι = |Pj|)
|Pj| each level of hierarchy to all nets “at once”
 Xjk = 1 j = 1, 2…n * Top - Down Scheme
k=1 GRP
* Bottom Up Scheme
 aijk Xjk ≤ wi i = 1, 2, … m
j, k
Hierarchical decisions are made independently,
i.e. without the knowledge of how they may
affect the succeeding stages.

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THE TOP - DOWN APPROACH I

k(1) P(1,1) P(1,2)

P(2,1) P(2,2)
k(2)

k(3) P(3,1) P(3,2)

k(4) P(4,1) P(3,2)

k(5) P(5,1) P(5,2)

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 k(6) P(6,1) P(6,2) k(11) P(11,1) P(11,2) P(11,3) P(11,4)

k(7) P(7,1) P(7,2) P(7,3)

k(8) P(8,1) P(8,2) P(8,3)

P(9,1) P(9,2) P(9,3)

k(9)

k(10) P(10,1) P(10,2) P(10,3)

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H1
h1 The linear restrictions are:
v1 v2 V2
For all admissible i, j : x(i, j) ≥ 0
V1 H2 For all i = 1, 2, .. 11, Xi +  x(i, j) = K(i)
h2  x(i, j) + y1 = v1
(i, j) ∈ V1
∼
x(i, j) - Number of nets of type i using the j-th  x(i, j) + y2 = h1
pattern (i, j) ∈ H1
∼
Xi - Number of over flown nets of type i, i i=  x(i, j) + y3 = v2
(i, j) ∈ V2
1,2,…11 ∼
 x(i, j) + y4 = h2
v1, v2, h1, h2 -Channel capacities (i, j) ∈ H2
∼
H1 = { (i, j)|P(i, j) crosses H1} ; H2, V1, V2- similar. The linear forms which are optimized:
∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ 11
y1, y2, y3, y4 -Number of leftover tracks on v1,  Ki = MAX
h1, v2, h2 - respectively i =1
4
K(i) - Number of nets of type i  Xi = MIN
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THE TOP- DOWN APPROACH II

Principle : Cut and make linear
cut line
assignment of
crossings


1. For each net calculate the crossing costs

2. Build the cost matrix
3. Make linear assignment
4. Split the original problem into 2 new, smaller
problems
5. Continue in breadth-first manner until desired
granularity is met.
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