Temperature-aware global placement

Abstract

We describe a deterministic placement method for standard cells which minimizes total power consumption and leads to a smooth temperature distribution over the die. It is based on the quadratic placement formulation, where the overall weighted net length is minimized. Two innovations are introduced to achieve the above goals. First, overall power consumption is minimized by shortening nets with a high power dissipation. Second, cells are spread over the placement area such that the die temperature profile inside the package is flattened. Experimental results show a significant reduction of the maximum temperature on the die and a reduction of total power consumption.