'DIAMOND' CHIP - AN ALTERNATIVE RECTILINEAR GATE - ARRAY.

A new arrangement of gates in a gate-array is proposed. Unlike conventional gate-arrays, the number of gates is a given row (or column) is dependent on the location of the row (or column). Various geometrical parameters are evaluated for this diamond geometry to illustrate its advantages over a conventional geometry. The implications for design automation tools such as placement and wiring packages are seen to be minimal. Application of the idea to higher level packages such as chips on a module or modules on a board is straightforward.