Area, Power & Timing Tradeoffs

Section goal

VT mix strategy, leakage and dynamic power optimization, and balanced PPA closure playbooks.

How to study this section

1. Start with each topic hub to understand mechanism and ownership.

2. Use reports and debug pages to build run-comparison instincts.

3. Use interview and case pages for pressure drills.

4. Close with checklist and PPA impact before merge decisions.

Topics

1. vt-mix-strategy/ — VT Mix Strategy

2. leakage-recovery/ — Leakage Recovery

3. dynamic-power-synth/ — Dynamic Power Optimization in Synthesis

4. tradeoff-playbook/ — PPA Tradeoff Playbook

Related topics

• Synthesis course hub

Synthesis deep dive

PPA closure is a constrained tradeoff problem, not a timing-only exercise.

Concept diagram

PPA TRIAD

timing target <-> power budget <-> area cap

Metric graph

PARETO PROGRESSION

early runs      o o
balanced point    o
over-tuned          o (risk)

Reports and artifacts

• VT mix

• leakage trend

• dynamic power trend

• PPA Pareto table

Mini case study

LVT-heavy fix recovered setup but violated leakage target; balanced VT strategy closed both.

Debug branches

• Timing-only claims need power check

• Validate hold on VT swaps

• Use Pareto memo

Senior review question

Ask: what evidence proves this QoR move is real and stable?