Path smoothing via discrete optimization

A fundamental problem in timing-driven physical synthesis is the reduction of critical paths in a design. In this work, we propose a powerful new technique that moves (and can also resize) multiple cells simultaneously to smooth critical paths, thereby reducing delay and improving worst negative slack or a figure-of-merit. Our approach offers several key advantages over previous formulations, including the accurate modeling of objectives and constraints in the true timing model, and a guarantee of legality for all cell locations.