The VLSI Design Automation Assistant: From Algorithms to Silicon
Thaddeus J. Kowalski, Dan Geiger, W.H. Wolf, Wolf Fïchtner · IEEE Design & Test of Computers · 1985
Our ability to fabricate complex VLSI chips is outrunning our ability to design them. To reduce the design time for complex chips we are creating an expert design assistant-programs that automate as many of the design tasks as possible while allowing the human designer to control the synthesis process. A series of programs translates an algorithm into a chip layout. Some programs are expert systems while others use traditional algorithms. Our early results lead us to believe that a knowledge-based expert system is an appropriate tool for bridging the gap between logical and physical design.