fiction – Design Automation for Field-coupled Nanotechnologies

This code base provides a C++20 framework for field-coupled technology-independent open nanocomputing developed as part of the Munich Nanotech Toolkit (MNT) by the Chair for Design Automation at the Technical University of Munich. Within fiction, algorithms for logic synthesis, placement, routing, clocking, verification, and simulation for Field-coupled Nanocomputing (FCN) technologies are implemented.

To this end, most physical design tasks can be performed on generic data structures that abstract from particular technology or cell design. Using an extensible set of gate libraries, technologies, and cell types, these can easily be compiled down to any desired FCN technology for physical simulation.

For these use cases, fiction provides a C++ header-only library as well as Python bindings that provide data types and algorithms for recurring tasks, e.g., logic network and layout types on different abstraction levels, clocking schemes, gate libraries, design automation algorithms, etc. Additionally, fiction comes with an ABC-like CLI tool that allows quick access to its core functionality.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via nanotech.cda@xcit.tum.de or by creating an issue on GitHub.

🚀 Getting Started

To help you get started with fiction, pick the interface that best fits your use case:

Goal	Recommended Path	Section
Try the tool immediately	🐳 Docker CLI image	CLI (Docker)
Full-featured local CLI build	💻 Native build	CLI (Source)
Integrate into a C++ project	📚 Header-only library	C++ Library
Script / notebooks / rapid prototyping	🐍 Python bindings (PyPI)	Python Bindings

For a full getting started guide, CLI command list, or API reference, see the documentation.

🐳 CLI (Docker)

This is the fastest zero-install path. We release pre-built images of the latest CLI on Docker Hub. Make sure you have Docker installed on your local system.

Pull the latest image:

docker pull mawalter/fiction:latest

Run the interactive CLI session:

docker run --rm -it mawalter/fiction

Internally, the repository lives at /app/fiction.

💻 CLI (Source)

When you want to add your own algorithms or contribute to the project, you should build fiction from source.

Clone the project with its submodules:

git clone --recursive https://github.com/cda-tum/fiction.git
cd fiction

Configure and build with CMake:

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build --parallel

Run the CLI:

build/cli/fiction

Here is an example of running fiction to perform a full physical design flow on a QCA circuit layout that can afterward be simulated in QCADesigner:

📚 C++ Library

If you want to use fiction as a dependency in your project, use its header-only library.

Add fiction as a subdirectory to your CMake project and link against libfiction (assuming your project is called fanfiction):

add_subdirectory(fiction)
target_link_libraries(fanfiction PRIVATE libfiction)

Then include what you need:

#include <fiction/layouts/cell_level_layout.hpp>
#include <fiction/layouts/clocking_scheme.hpp>
#include <fiction/technology/qca_one_library.hpp>
#include <fiction/io/write_qca_layout.hpp>
#include <fiction/...>

🐍 Python Bindings

Ideal for notebooks, exploratory scripts, and integration with Python tooling.

Install the library from PyPI:

pip install mnt.pyfiction

Import it in your script:

from mnt import pyfiction

---

🧪 Supported Technologies

Physical design in fiction can be performed technology-independently. Only if the resulting layouts are to be physically simulated is a specific technology implementation required. To this end, fiction supports various FCN implementations together with gate libraries to compile gate-level layout abstractions down to the cell level. Additionally, output formats for external physical simulator engines are also supported.

Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA)

Gate libraries:

• QCA ONE

File formats:

• *.qca for QCADesigner
• *.qll for MagCAD and SCERPA
• *.fqca for QCA-STACK
• *.svg for visual representation

Many thanks to Frank Sill Torres for his support with the QCADesigner format, to Willem Lambooy for his support with the QCA-STACK format, and to Sophia Kuhn for implementing the SVG writer!

in-plane Nanomagnet Logic (iNML)

Gate libraries:

• ToPoliNano

File formats:

• *.qcc for ToPoliNano
• *.qll for ToPoliNano & MagCAD

Many thanks to Umberto Garlando, Fabrizio Riente, and Giuliana Beretta for their support!

Silicon Dangling Bonds (SiDBs)

Gate libraries:

• Bestagon

File formats:

• *.sqd for SiQAD

Many thanks to Samuel Sze Hang Ng for his support!

⚙️ Implemented Design Automation Algorithms

The fiction framework provides implementations of state-of-the-art design automation algorithms for FCN technologies. These algorithms can be used in evaluation scripts to perform logic synthesis, physical design, layout verification, and physical simulation.

Logic Synthesis

For logic synthesis, fiction utilizes ABC and the mockturtle library that offer a multitude of logic network types and optimization algorithms. Logic synthesis can be performed in external tools and resulting Verilog/AIGER/BLIF/... files can be parsed by fiction. Alternatively, since mockturtle is included in fiction, synthesis can be applied in the same evaluation script.

Physical Design

For automatic FCN layout obtainment, fiction provides algorithms that receive mockturtle logic networks as input specification and output placed, routed, and clocked generic FCN circuits.

Among these algorithms are

• SMT-based exact placement and routing
• OGD-based scalable placement and routing
• SAT-based one-pass synthesis
• SAT-based multi-path routing
• Graph-oriented layout design

plus several path-finding algorithms that work on generic layouts:

• shortest path via the A* algorithm
• k shortest paths via Yen's algorithm

On top, there is a hexagonalization algorithm to transform Cartesian layouts suitable for QCA into hexagonal layouts suitable for SiDBs, and multiple algorithms to optimize gate-level layouts post-placement:

• post-layout optimization
• wiring reduction

Verification

Layout correctness can be validated using

• Design Rule Violation (DRV) checking
• SAT-based formal verification (equivalence checking)

Physical Simulation

When a layout is compiled to the cell level via the application of a technology-dependent gate library, it can be simulated using a physical model. Currently, the following simulation algorithms are implemented in fiction:

• Silicon Dangling Bonds (SiDBs)
  • Electrostatic Ground State Simulation
    • ClusterComplete
    • QuickExact
    • QuickSim
    • Exhaustive (ExGS)
  • Critical Temperature Simulation
  • Operational Domain Computation

⏰ Clocking Schemes

Regular clocking schemes have been proposed in the FCN literature and can be used as floor plans for physical design. However, sometimes it makes sense to assign clock numbers on the fly. Therefore, fiction supports both regular and irregular clocking schemes with variable numbers of clock phases: for instance, QCA uses four phases, whereas iNML needs only three.

Built-in schemes are

Columnar	Row	2DDWave

USE	RES	ESR

CFE	Ripple	SRS

BANCS

plus the mentioned irregular open clocking that works via a clock map instead of a regular extrapolated cutout.

❎ Wire Crossings

With many FCN technologies considered planar, wire crossings should be minimized if possible. However, there are some options in QCA where, using a second layer, crossings over short distances and co-planar rotated cells become possible. As both are just technical implementations of the same concept, fiction supports crossings as wires in a second grid layer in its data structures for all FCN technologies. They will also be represented as such in corresponding SVG and QCADesigner output. However, note that it is to be interpreted as the concept of crossings and could also be realized co-planar.

Wires are only allowed to cross other wires! Wires crossing gates is considered to lead to unstable signals.

⏳ Synchronization Elements

A technology extension proposes to utilize the external clock signal generator in an unconventional way: by creating further asymmetric clock signals with extended Hold phases that are assigned to specific wire tiles, synchronization elements can be created that stall signals over multiple clock cycles. These artificial latches are able to feed information to any other clock number, but their usage reduces the overall throughput of the layout. In return, long wire detours for signal synchronization can be prevented.

💰 Cost Metrics

Designed layouts can be evaluated with regard to several cost functions. The following metrics are currently implemented:

Gate-level layouts:

• Circuit dimension in tiles
• Number of gate tiles
• Number of wire tiles
• Number of wire crossings
• Number of synchronization elements
• Critical path
• Throughput
• Bounding box
• Energy dissipation based on a physical model (QCA only)

Cell-level layouts:

• Circuit dimension in cells
• Number of cells
• Bounding box
• Area usage in nm²

📊 Benchmark Library

To objectively evaluate and compare software and design automation tools, MNT Bench provides gate-level layouts for various gate libraries and clocking schemes, generated using the latest physical design and optimization algorithms, with fiction offering the corresponding read and write utilities to generate gate-level layouts from gate-level layout files (.fgl) and vice versa.

Additionally, the benchmarks folder contains the function descriptions of frequently used benchmark sets in Verilog format (.v) provided by MNT Bench.

📜 Reference

Since fiction is academic software, we would be thankful if you referred to it by citing the following publications:

@misc{fiction,
      author = {Walter, Marcel and Wille, Robert and Sill Torres, Frank and Gro{\ss}e, Daniel and Drechsler, Rolf},
      title = {{fiction: An Open Source Framework for the Design of Field-coupled Nanocomputing Circuits}},
      archivePrefix = {arXiv},
      eprint = {1905.02477},
      note = {arXiv:1905.02477},
      year = {2019},
      month = {May}
}

and

@inproceedings{mnt,
    author = {Walter, Marcel and Drewniok, Jan and Hofmann, Simon and Hien, Benjamin and Wille, Robert},
    title = {{The Munich Nanotech Toolkit (MNT)}},
    booktitle = {IEEE International Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE NANO)},
    pages = {454--459},
    year = {2024}
}

Additionally, many algorithms implemented in fiction have been published individually. For a full list of publications, please refer to the documentation.

🙏 Acknowledgements

The Munich Nanotech Toolkit has been supported by the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and Arts through the Distinguished Professorship Program.