We present a deterministic algorithm for large-scale VLSI module placement. Following the less flexibility first （LFF） principle,we simulate a manual packing process in which the concept of placement by stages is introduced to reduce the overall evaluation complexity. The complexity of the proposed algorithm is （N1 ＋ N2 ） × O（ n^2 ） ＋ N3× O（n^4lgn） ,where N1, N2 ,and N3 denote the number of modules in each stage, N1 ＋ N2 ＋ N3 = n, and N3〈〈 n. This complexity is much less than the original time complexity of O（n^5lgn）. Experimental results indicate that this approach is quite promising.
The definition and formula of flexibility of arbitrary rectilinear blocks are introduced and LFF principles are extended to handle arbitrary rectilinear blocks and blocks with relative constraints.The experimental results demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed method.
