An RTL design-space exploration method for high-level applications

In this paper. we present an RTL design-space exploration method for high-l evel applications. We formulate the RTL design-space exploration into a per formanced riven module selection problem. We devise a dynamic-programming a lgorithm to solve the problem. We present an exploration flow by integratin g commercial synthesis and layout tools with our proposed method. Experimen tal results have demonstrated that generating AT-curve for all modules is t he most time consuming task in the design-space exploration process. Using the proposed 3-point AT projection approach, our method can achieve on an a verage of 80% speed-up in run time and 90% accuracy in design estimation.