A Field Programmable Gate Array Placement Methodology for Netlist-Level Circuits with GPU Acceleration

Abstract

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), renowned for their reconfigurable nature, offer unmatched flexibility and cost-effectiveness in engineering experimentation. They stand as the quintessential platform for hardware acceleration and prototype validation. With the increasing ubiquity of FPGA chips and the escalating scale of system designs, the significance of their accompanying Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools has never been more pronounced. The placement process, serving as the linchpin in FPGA EDA, directly influences FPGA development and operational efficiency. This paper introduces an FPGA placement methodology hinging on the Verilog-to-Routing (VTR) framework. We introduce a novel packing approach grounded in the weighted Edmonds’ Blossom algorithm, ensuring that the CLB generation strategy aligns more closely with load-balanced distribution. Furthermore, we enhanced the electric field-driven resolver placement process for CLB locations and leverage GPU-accelerated design. Experimental results demonstrate substantial improvements over the traditional VTR algorithm, with an average optimization of 28.42% in the packing process runtime, an average acceleration ratio of 2.85 times in the placement phase, and a 39.97% reduction in total packing and placement runtime consumption.