A Pad-focused PCB Routing Algorithm Using Polygon-based Dynamic Partitioning

Abstract

Routing plays a pivotal role in the design of printed circuit boards (PCBs). Existing automated routers typically tackle the routing problem by dividing it into two separate phases: escape routing and area routing. However, this approach often leads to suboptimal solutions or even the absence of solutions when transitioning from escape routing to area routing. In this paper, we propose a novel pad-focused, net-by-net, two-stage PCB routing approach comprising of a Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS)-based global routing stage, followed by an A*-based detailed routing stage. To bridge the gap between the global and detailed routing stages, we introduce a polygon-based dynamic routable region partitioning mechanism, ensuring that a detailed routing solution exists when a global routing solution is present. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach outperforms state-of-the-art routers in terms of the success rate and total wirelength on the test set. INDEX TERMS Area routing, Detailed routing, Escape routing, Global routing, Monte Carlo tree search, Printed circuit board