LAUSR

This work explores how growth simulation may be applied to the fundamental area-to-point (AP) optimization problems in the design of integrated circuits. To achieve this, a newly developed generative algorithm capable of creating a continuous explicit tree-like path is applied. Novelty of the proposed algorithm lies in the introduction of a specific interpolation scheme called “electrical conductivity spreading approach”, which enables conducting channels to extend freely without constraint by the underlying finite element mesh (i.e., node locations or element connections); thus, more optimization flexibility is achieved compared to the previous constructal methods. To demonstrate the benefits of this method for AP problems, two optimization models with different objective functions are exemplarily benchmarked against a conventional constructal design for power distribution networks (PDNs) in electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) power planes. In each case, the optimization finds a significant improvement with respect to the conventional design. Good agreement between experimental measurements and simulations is found, which confirms the validity of the proposed generative algorithm.