SURF: rubber-band routing system for multichip modules

Current PCB (printed circuit board)-based routing tools cannot meet the performance and cost constraints presented by today´s packaging technologies, including thin-film multichip modules. The authors describe SURF, a routing system designed specifically to meet these challenges. The strength of the SURF system comes from its extremely flexible rubber-band data representation. The rubber-band model is an ideal framework for performance-driven and cost-driven routing and naturally supports rectilinear, octilinear, and all-angle wiring patterns: one-and-a-half-layer routing; even wiring distribution; and powerful manual editing. The integrated spoke-based design-rule-checking/enforcement mechanism supports an incremental design style. As objects are moved or wires are resized, the wires are adjusted incrementally so that they maintain the same wiring topology. By working in the topological domain instead of the geometrical one, the designer can focus on higher-level design issues while the tool handles the precise geometrical details.<>