Unlike the traditional floorplanning approaches that are blind to the underlying complex DSM physical effects, physical prototyping
provides a playground where any design trade-off and constraints can be constantly monitored and verified. Moreover, this
prototype can be refined using a detail implementation tool without losing consistency of design quality. Therefore, design
closure can be achieved with high efficiency and predictability.
Physical prototyping tools also help to find better partitioning into manageable blocks, resulting in a hierarchical design
methodology. Because the partitioning is based on the physically feasible prototype, the block-level timing budgets created
are realistic and lead to a much easier task for traditional logic synthesis. The prototyping tool thus can become the hub
of the design environment, covering partitioning, generation of block-level constraints, top-level design closure, clock tree
synthesis, and power grid design.