Dynamic Design Switching for Mixed Signal Simulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for verifying and simulating integrated circuit designs, especially those with mixed analog and digital circuits, are time-consuming due to the need for re-elaboration and re-simulation whenever design versions change, as they require processing from scratch.
Innovation Solution
A dynamic design switching approach that allows for swapping or selecting different segments of a design without re-elaboration, utilizing an automated triggering mechanism and a multiplexor structure to control the selection of alternate representations based on specific triggers, enabling simulation without repeating the elaboration process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different versions of a design are provided for analysis, then design verification flexibility is improved, but processing time increases due to re-elaboration and re-simulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-elaborates multiple design versions and stores them in a database before verification is needed. When a design version change occurs, the system can directly retrieve the pre-elaborated version from the database without repeating the elaboration process, significantly reducing verification time while maintaining flexibility to analyze different design versions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a dynamic switching mechanism that allows the verification system to dynamically select and switch between different pre-elaborated design versions based on verification needs. This dynamic version switching capability enables flexible analysis of multiple design iterations without requiring time-consuming re-elaboration, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and processing time
2Measurement precision
If re-elaboration is performed to account for design changes, then verification accuracy is improved, but processing efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs elaboration in advance and stores the results in a database. When verification is needed, it retrieves the pre-elaborated data without repeating the process, maintaining verification accuracy while dramatically improving processing throughput by eliminating redundant elaboration operations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates and stores copies of elaborated design data in a database for different design versions. These pre-generated copies can be quickly retrieved and used for verification without repeating the elaborate process, ensuring accurate verification results while maintaining high productivity through efficient data reuse
Data Source
AI summary
An approach is disclosed herein for dynamic design switching for high performance mixed signal simulation. Disclosed herein is a new approach to simulation processes that allows for different segments of a design to be swapped out without requiring re-elaboration. This is an improvement over current techniques and decreases the amount of time need to simulate a design. In some embodiments, the technique illustrated herein is combined with an automated triggering mechanism that controls the selection of alternate representations for the same element base on those triggers. In some embodiments a new multiplexor structure is provided that is specifically tailored to solving the present issue.