What is a floorplan, and what problem does it solve?
From PDVerse PnR Interview Handbook · pdVerse Mentor Guide
Short Answer
A floorplan turns a logically valid design into a physical plan for boundaries, rows, macros, pins, channels, and reserved resources. It is the first proof that the design can plausibly fit and connect.
Technical Explanation
Think of it as arranging rooms and corridors before furnishing a building; unlike a building sketch, every object must obey technology and library rules. A floorplan sets physical opportunities and constraints. It does not perform detailed cell optimisation, clock-tree synthesis, routing, extraction, or signoff.
Formula Or Decision Rule
Decision rule: a floorplan is ready only when legality and early quality evidence agree.
What To Check
• Warning sign: A boundary exists but rows, macros, pins, or routing corridors have no credible plan. • Inspect: choose one affected region, macro, row, pin, path, or net and trace the physical cause. • Correct: Create and review the missing physical intent, then rerun the same checks.
Command Checks & Actions
• report_design -floorplan: reports the floorplan state understood by the tool
Run only the commands needed for this question. Save the report with the floorplan version and analysis context.Healthy, Suspicious & Hard-stop Results
• Healthy: A floorplan turns a logically valid design into a physical plan for boundaries, rows, macros, pins, channels, and reserved resources. It is the first proof that the design can plausibly fit and connect. • Suspicious: A boundary exists but rows, macros, pins, or routing corridors have no credible plan. • Hard stop: required legality or physical feasibility is missing or unexplained. Create and review the missing physical intent, then rerun the same checks.
Common Mistake
Do not hide the symptom with an arbitrary utilisation, halo, channel, blockage, pin move, or die-size change. A boundary exists but rows, macros, pins, or routing corridors have no credible plan.
What The Interviewer Is Testing
The interviewer is testing whether you can connect “What is a floorplan, and what problem does it solve?” to measurable physical evidence and an owned correction.
Practical Example
Symptom: A boundary exists but rows, macros, pins, or routing corridors have no credible plan. Corrective path: Create and review the missing physical intent, then rerun the same checks.
Continue practising