Circuit Design Change Evaluation Using Propagation Graph Slack Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
As electronic circuit designs become more complex, evaluating the effects of changes on circuit characteristics such as power consumption, size, and timing becomes increasingly difficult and time-consuming, with local changes not accurately representing global objectives and often ignoring interactions that affect overall circuit performance.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the generation of a propagation graph to estimate and trace slacks in circuit paths, allowing for parallel evaluation of changes on subgraphs, regression to characterize change effects, and acceptance or rejection of changes based on total negative slack analysis, reducing the need to trace every path and thus minimizing computational resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If every path is traced to evaluate circuit design changes, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to increased time consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The circuit design is divided into subgraphs representing different portions of the circuit. Instead of evaluating every path in the entire circuit, the system segments the evaluation task into smaller subgraph evaluations, allowing parallel processing and reducing overall evaluation time while maintaining accuracy through selective path tracing based on slack values.
2Measurement precision
If every path is traced to evaluate circuit design changes, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to computational resource requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different evaluation strategies to different portions of the circuit based on their local characteristics. Paths with large slack values are evaluated using estimation techniques, while paths with small slack values undergo detailed tracing. This local quality approach optimizes computational resource usage by applying intensive analysis only where necessary.
3Ease of operation
If local changes are made to circuit design, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to inaccurate representation of global objectives
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where slack values from path tracing are used to guide further evaluation. By calculating slack values for different paths and using them to determine which paths require detailed tracing versus estimation, the system ensures that local changes are evaluated in the context of their impact on global circuit objectives, maintaining reliability while allowing easy local modifications.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for changing a circuit design are described. The method includes generating a propagation graph for the circuit design and estimating slack values for some of the paths in the propagation graph. The method also includes making a virtual change to the circuit design and determining whether to accept or reject the change based on how the change affects the estimated slack values.