A fast algorithm for area minimization of slicing floorplans

The traditional algorithm for area minimization of slicing floorplans due to Stockmeyer has time and space complexity O(n/sup 2/) in the worst case. For more than a decade, it has been considered the best possible. This paper presents a new algorithm of worst-case time and space complexity O(n log n), where n is the total number of realizations for the basic blocks, regardless whether the slicing is balanced or not. We also show R(n log n) is the lower bound on the time complexity of any area minimization algorithm. Therefore, the new algorithm not only finds the optimal realization, but also has the optimal running time.