This paper presents a general algorithm for multi-way digital circuit partitioning.It can be applied to different optimizatiom functions. Based on the general net cut model. a well designed discrete penalty function is incorporated into the original cost functions to take consideration of the potential interaction between free cell’s exchange. Experimental results show that not only the proposed algorithm outperforms the multi-way version of F-M’s slgorithm

but also the erratic defect of F-M’s algorithm is reduced in part. Since we adopt the improved bucket sorting techniques

the algorithm remains the linear time complexity that F-M’s algorithm had achieved and thus can be applied to partition VLSI and ULSI circuits.