Prediction of power requirements for high-speed circuits

Abstract

Modern VLSI design methodologies and manufacturing technologies are making circuits increasingly fast. The quest for higher circuit performance and integration density stems from fields such as the telecommunication one where high speed and capability of dealing with large data sets is mandatory. The design of high-speed circuits is a challenging task, and can be carried out only if designers can exploit suitable CAD tools. Among the several aspects of high-speed circuit design, controlling power consumption is today a major issue for ensuring that circuits can operate at full speed without damages. In particular, tools for fast and accurate estimation of power consumption of high speed circuits are required. In this paper we focus on the problem of predicting the maximum power consumption of sequential circuits. We formulate the problem as a constrained optimization problem, and solve it resorting to an evolutionary algorithm. Moreover, we empirically assess the effectiveness of our problem formulation with respect to the classical unconstrained formulation. Finally, we report experimental results assessing the effectiveness of the prototypical tool we implemented.