Tools to Practice Real-World VLSI Physical Design Challenges

Six focused engineering tools that cover the physical design flow — from schematic capture through place & route, clock tree synthesis, timing signoff, and SoC partitioning.

Design Flow Map REV 01
SCHEMATIC
PLACE & ROUTE
CTS
STA
SIGNOFF

One set of tools, tracking every stage of the flow.

VLSI EDA Tools graphic: Synthesis, STA, Place & Route and CTS Mesh icons above a wafer and packaged chip, with three abutted SoC blocks and their feedthroughs below.
6Engineering tools
1Connected flow
01→06Schematic to signoff
2026Actively developed
Tools

SoC tools in Physical design

Each tool is built for a specific stage of the flow, so your team can move from capture to signoff without switching context.

Schematic Entry Stage 01
NETS · SYMBOLS · PINS

KTool

Schematic capture built for large SoC designs — fast, keyboard-driven entry with live net and pin validation.

Available See KTool →
Physical Design Stage 02
PLACE · ROUTE · DRC

PnrViewer

Explore post place-and-route layouts, inspect congestion, and trace nets directly against your floorplan.

Available See PnrViewer →
SoC Verification Stage 03
CONNECTIVITY · RULES

SocChecker

Run SoC-level connectivity and integration checks across blocks before you commit to the next design stage.

Available See SocChecker →
Clock Tree Stage 04
CTS · MESH · SKEW

CTSMeshViewer

Visualize clock tree and mesh structures after CTS, and spot skew or balance issues before timing closure.

Timing Signoff Stage 05
SETUP · HOLD · SLACK

StaAgent

An automated agent that runs static timing analysis passes and surfaces the paths that need your attention.

SoC Partitioning Stage 06
ABUTMENT · FEEDTHROUGH

SocPartitionFeedthroughOptimizer

Optimize feedthrough routing across abutted blocks when partitioning a large SoC into physical sub-blocks.

In development Learn more →
How it fits together

One flow, three phases.

The six tools group into three phases of the physical design flow — capture, implement, and sign off.

01 · Capture

Schematic capture

Start from a validated schematic in KTool before anything moves to physical implementation.

02 · Implement

Place, route & synthesize

Place, route, and build the clock tree with PnrViewer and CTSMeshViewer, tracking congestion and skew as you go.

03 · Verify & sign off

Check, close timing & partition

Verify connectivity, close timing, and optimize block partitioning with SocChecker, StaAgent, and the partition optimizer.

Your next stage

Pick up where your flow leaves off.

Whether you're capturing a schematic or closing timing on a full SoC, there's a tool built for that stage.