Depth-optimal Buffer and Splitter Insertion and Optimization in AQFP Circuits
Published in 28th Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference (ASP-DAC), 2023
The Adiabatic Quantum-Flux Parametron (AQFP) is an energy-efficient superconducting logic family. AQFP technology requires buffer and splitting elements (B/S) to be inserted to satisfy path-balancing and fanout-branching constraints. In this work, we study the B/S insertion and optimization methods. In particular, the paper proposes: an algorithm for B/S insertion that guarantees global depth optimality; a new approach for B/S optimization based on minimum register retiming; a B/S optimization flow.