Design Automation of Superconductive Digital Circuits: A review

Electronic Design Automation (EDA) is essential for the design of large-scale microelectronic systems. In this article, EDA methodologies, techniques, and algorithms used to develop superconductive computing systems are reviewed. The semicustom standard cell-based design flow, common in conventional CMOS circuits, is widely adopted in modern superconductive digital circuits. Differences and issues in CAD flows as compared to CMOS design methodologies are highlighted. The most common stages of these design flows, from high-level simulation to physical layout, are described. These stages are grouped into three areas: simulation/modeling, synthesis/place and route, and verification. Modern approaches and tools for superconductive circuits are reviewed for each of these areas.