ALTO: An iterative area/performance tradeoff algorithm for LUT-based FPGA technology mapping

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an iterative area/performance tradeoff algorithm for look-up table (LUT)-based held programmable gate array (FPGA) technology mapping. First, it finds an area-optimized, performance-considered initial network by a modified area optimization technique. Then, an iterative algorithm consisting of several resynthesizing techniques is applied to trade the area for the performance in the network gracefully. Experimental results show that this approach can efficiently provide a complete set of mapping solutions from the area-optimized one to the performance-optimize one for the given design. Furthermore, these two extreme solutions produced by our algorithm outperform the results provided by most existing algorithms. Therefore, our algorithm is very useful for the timing-driven, LUT-based FPGA synthesis.