Timing Analysis and Optimization of a High-Performance CMOS Processor Chipset

We describe the timing analysis and optimization methodology used for the chipset inside the IBM S/390 Parallel Enterprise Server - Generation 3. After an introduction to the concepts of static timing analysis, we describe the timing-modeling for the gates and interconnects, explain the optimization schemes and present obtained results. 1. Overview After introducing the chipset, the used library and differentiating static timing analysis from simulation in section 2, we go over the basic concepts of static timing analysis in section 3. In section 4, we describe our clocking structure and then, in sections 5 and 6, we explain how circuits and interconnects are modeled for the timing -tool. Thus sections 2 through 6 set the stage for the introduction of the optimization scheme, which is presented in sections 7 and 8. In section 9 we share measured results, section 10 gives an outlook on our current work, and the paper wraps up with conclusions in section 11