AbstractA neural network model for solving optimization problems proposed by J. J. Hopfield et al. has yielded good solutions of the traveling salesman problem. The present paper describes a method of solving module placement problems in automatic LSI device layout, in which a neural network model is used to optimize a set quadrisection procedure by minimizing its objective function. The solutions obtained for this method are comparable to or better than those obtained by the GFDR method, an iterative‐improvement method of solving the module placement proble