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Main Authors: Song, Zhan, Liu, Yu-Tung, Chen, Chen, Sun, Guoheng, Yin, Jiaqi, Ho, Chia-tung, Li, Ang, Ren, Haoxing, Yu, Cunxi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.14237
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author Song, Zhan
Liu, Yu-Tung
Chen, Chen
Sun, Guoheng
Yin, Jiaqi
Ho, Chia-tung
Li, Ang
Ren, Haoxing
Yu, Cunxi
author_facet Song, Zhan
Liu, Yu-Tung
Chen, Chen
Sun, Guoheng
Yin, Jiaqi
Ho, Chia-tung
Li, Ang
Ren, Haoxing
Yu, Cunxi
contents Transistor topology optimization is a critical step in standard cell design, directly dictating diffusion sharing efficiency and downstream routability. However, identifying optimal topologies remains a persistent bottleneck, as conventional exhaustive search methods become computationally intractable with increasing circuit complexity in advanced nodes. This paper introduces TOPCELL, a novel and scalable framework that reformulates high-dimensional topology exploration as a generative task using Large Language Models (LLMs). We employ Group Relative Policy Optimization (GRPO) to fine-tune the model, aligning its topology optimization strategy with logical (circuit) and spatial (layout) constraints. Experimental results within an industrial flow targeting an advanced 2nm technology node demonstrate that TOPCELL significantly outperforms foundation models in discovering routable, physically-aware topologies. When integrated into a state-of-the-art (SOTA) automation flow for a 7nm library generation task, TOPCELL exhibits robust zero-shot generalization and matches the layout quality of exhaustive solvers while achieving an 85.91x speedup.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_14237
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle TOPCELL: Topology Optimization of Standard Cell via LLMs
Song, Zhan
Liu, Yu-Tung
Chen, Chen
Sun, Guoheng
Yin, Jiaqi
Ho, Chia-tung
Li, Ang
Ren, Haoxing
Yu, Cunxi
Machine Learning
Transistor topology optimization is a critical step in standard cell design, directly dictating diffusion sharing efficiency and downstream routability. However, identifying optimal topologies remains a persistent bottleneck, as conventional exhaustive search methods become computationally intractable with increasing circuit complexity in advanced nodes. This paper introduces TOPCELL, a novel and scalable framework that reformulates high-dimensional topology exploration as a generative task using Large Language Models (LLMs). We employ Group Relative Policy Optimization (GRPO) to fine-tune the model, aligning its topology optimization strategy with logical (circuit) and spatial (layout) constraints. Experimental results within an industrial flow targeting an advanced 2nm technology node demonstrate that TOPCELL significantly outperforms foundation models in discovering routable, physically-aware topologies. When integrated into a state-of-the-art (SOTA) automation flow for a 7nm library generation task, TOPCELL exhibits robust zero-shot generalization and matches the layout quality of exhaustive solvers while achieving an 85.91x speedup.
title TOPCELL: Topology Optimization of Standard Cell via LLMs
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.14237