Using shape grammars and extremal optimization in 3D IC layout design

•We use shape grammars and extremal optimization in 3D IC layout design.•Shape grammar generates topologically feasible solutions.•Design requirements are in a form of goals and constraints that are predicates.•The partitioning using grouping of interconnected 3D neighborhoods is proposed.•The extremal optimization is applied to the MCNC set of benchmark circuits.

Computer-aided 3D IC layout design task is computationally difficult and no deterministic polynomial time algorithms are able to solve it. The elaborated intelligent framework architecture for visual kind of design uses a simple shape grammar to generate topologically feasible solutions which are further optimized to meet design requirements. The search process is driven by an intelligent derivation controller that employs design specific knowledge given in a form of goals and constraints. The paper focuses on the post-generation 3D IC wirelength optimization stage. The original partitioning heuristics implemented by the means of the extremal optimization is applied to the MCNC set of benchmark circuits. The achieved results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach while applied to sparse circuits.

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