CORAL II: linking behavior and structure in an IC design system

Abstract

A technique is described for maintaining very-fine-grained links between a behavioral specification and an automatically generated VLSI structural implementation. CORAL II exceed previous systems in the scope of design representations involved and the complexity of the relationships handled. The design representations used are described, as are the behavioral transformations that can be applied and the types of design choices that can be made. The complications introduced by these transformations and design decisions are discussed. Some possible applications of CORAL II are outlined and an existing graphical interface for examining the synthesized design and its relationship to the behavioral specification is described.<>