用大模型优化电路代码,发现其在时序逻辑上表现不佳。
Rethinking LLM-Based RTL Code Optimization Via Timing Logic Metamorphosis
- 通过代码形态变换测试大模型对时序逻辑的优化能力
- 大模型在普通逻辑优化上优于传统编译器,但在时序控制上落后
- 适合研究AI辅助电路设计的学者关注
寄存器传输级(RTL)代码优化对于实现高性能和低功耗数字电路设计至关重要。然而,传统方法依赖人工调优和启发式规则,耗时且易出错。近期研究尝试利用大语言模型(LLMs)辅助RTL优化,基于自然语言描述生成优化代码片段,有望加速优化过程。但现有方法尚未充分评估LLM在复杂时序逻辑下的有效性。为此,我们开展了一项系统性实证研究,评估基于LLM的RTL优化方法在复杂时序逻辑场景中的表现。首先,我们提出一个新的基准测试集,包含四个子集,分别对应不同的RTL优化领域。其次,引入基于形态变换的方法,系统评估优化效果。核心洞察是:语义等价但更复杂的代码,其优化效果应保持一致。经大量实验,发现:(1)基于LLM的优化方法在逻辑操作优化上表现良好,优于现有编译器方法;(2)在具有复杂时序逻辑的RTL代码中,尤其在时序控制流和时钟域优化方面,性能不及传统编译器,主要受限于大模型对时序逻辑的理解能力。基于这些发现,我们为未来利用大模型进行RTL优化的研究提供重要启示。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Register Transfer Level(RTL) code optimization is crucial for achieving high performance and low power consumption in digital circuit design. However, traditional optimization methods often rely on manual tuning and heuristics, which can be time-consuming and error-prone. Recent studies proposed to leverage Large Language Models(LLMs) to assist in RTL code optimization. LLMs can generate optimized code snippets based on natural language descriptions, potentially speeding up the optimization process. However, existing approaches have not thoroughly evaluated the effectiveness of LLM-Based code optimization methods for RTL code with complex timing logic. To address this gap, we conducted a comprehensive empirical investigation to assess the capability of LLM-Based RTL code optimization methods in handling RTL code with complex timing logic. In this study, we first propose a new benchmark for RTL optimization evaluation. It comprises four subsets, each corresponding to a specific area of RTL code optimization. Then we introduce a method based on metamorphosis to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of LLM-Based RTL code optimization methods.Our key insight is that the optimization effectiveness should remain consistent for semantically equivalent but more complex code. After intensive experiments, we revealed several key findings. (1) LLM-Based RTL optimization methods can effectively optimize logic operations and outperform existing compiler-based methods. (2) LLM-Based RTL optimization methods do not perform better than existing compiler-based methods on RTL code with complex timing logic, particularly in timing control flow optimization and clock domain optimization. This is primarily attributed to the challenges LLMs face in understanding timing logic in RTL code. Based on these findings, we provide insights for further research in leveraging LLMs for RTL code optimization.
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