Synthesis is a crucial component of future CAll s;ystems. The competitive edge of IC desiBn will most probcbly come frc*'1l the use of effective synthesis tools. A complete synthesis system should generate layout masks from a high-level algorithmic, behavioral or functional des- cription of a VLSI systen, [1 description of the target tech- nology and a description of the constraints and cost func- tions. The design should be completed in reasonable time and with the quality a human designer could obtain. Working designs have been produced with silicon compilers, but the quality of the design...

Synthesis is a crucial component of future CAll s;ystems. The competitive edge of IC desiBn will most probcbly come frc*'1l the use of effective synthesis tools. A complete synthesis system should generate layout masks from a high-level algorithmic, behavioral or functional des- cription of a VLSI systen, [1 description of the target tech- nology and a description of the constraints and cost func- tions. The design should be completed in reasonable time and with the quality a human designer could obtain. Working designs have been produced with silicon compilers, but the quality of the design...