3. Main optimization methods

3.1 Optimization levels

To present the various actions for optimizing power consumption, it is conventional to refer to the design levels of a VLSI circuit as shown in figure 18 . The lower levels, technological and logical, enable precise, but time-consuming and complex, estimation. Many optimization techniques exist at these levels, but their impact remains limited. High-level estimates, algorithmic and systemic, although less precise, provide rapid feedback to the designer to qualify different solutions...