Microprocessor design using VLSI

VLSI microprocessor design occurs in a number of stages, which include creating the initial functional or behavioral specification, encoding this specification into a hardware description language, and breaking down the design into modules and generating sizes and shapes for the eventual chip components. It also involves chip planning, which includes building a “floor plan” to indicate where on the chip each component should be placed and connected to other components. Computer scientists are also involved in creating the computer-aided design (CAD) tools that support engineers in the various stages of chip design and in developing the necessary theoretical results, such as how to efficiently design a floor plan with near-minimal area that satisfies the given constraints.