A cell-replicating approach to minicut-based circuit partitioning

An extension to the Fiduccia and Mattheyses minicut algorithm (1982) allows cells to be replicated in both sides of the partition. This technique can substantially reduce the number of cut nets in a partitioned network below what can be obtained without replication. The extensions to the algorithm to permit replication are easily implemented and maintain the linear-time complexity of the algorithm. This technique is dependent solely upon the interconnect topology and the direction of signal flows between cells and nets. The formulation of cell gains is extended to model the effect of cell replication, and the necessary modifications to the algorithm are described.<>