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Pin Placement
This section describes Virtuoso® Floorplanner’s capability to place and optimize pins.
Use the Pin Placement form to plan and optimize pins in the layout design. The Pin Placement form includes the Planning Placement of Top-Level and Level-1 Pins and Pin Optimization.
In Layout EXL and higher tiers, these commands are available under Plan – Pin Planning.
- Assign or refine pin constraints, such as the side constraint (Left, Right, Top, Bottom), placement status (Fixed, Locked), and pin order
- Assign or refine pin attributes, such as pin layer and size
When an alignment constraint is defined, a basic placer engine distributes the pins on the edge. For example, if five pins are assigned to the left edge, then the left edge is divided into five sections and the pins and evenly distributed. However, any existing shapes, blockages, or spacing rules on these edges are not considered. Pin planner only provides a visualization of the placement of the pins.
Pin Optimizer is a powerful algorithm that intelligently decides where to place the pins in design for optimal wire length, while honoring the constraints. It determines the placement of pins based on several factors, such as the minimal net length between the pins, routability of pins, and DRC-correct placement, while honoring the blockages, all constraint sets on the pins, including the ones done through Pin Planner.
Related Topics
Planning Placement of Top-Level and Level-1 Pins
Setting Pin Constraints Using a Pin Constraints File
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