From ASICs to SOCs: A Practical Approach

4.2. Overview of Physical Design Flow

We reviewed front-end design process in Chapter 1. Figure 4.1 shows a simplified front-end design flow. Here we included floorplanning as part of the front-end design flow. However, many consider floorplanning as a step in the back-end design flow. Whether it is part of front-end or back-end design flow, the main purpose of the floorplanning is to provide the location of blocks, I/Os, and power pads, as well as to define clock and power distributions. In order to do floorplanning, you need to know the gate size and operating frequency of each block in your design.

Figure 4.1. Front-End Design Flow ( Printed with permission of Fujitsu Microelectronics America, Inc.)

Figure 4.2 shows a simplified back-end ...