EDA Tool Automated Timing Closure Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Achieving timing closure in circuit designs is challenging due to the complexity of identifying and addressing timing problems, especially for novice users and those unfamiliar with register transfer language (RTL), which often requires significant effort and expert assistance.
Innovation Solution
A design tool that identifies violations of design checks, determines severity levels, and provides suggested actions, including automated procedures, to help designers achieve timing closure by prioritizing and resolving issues such as utilization, timing, routability, and power constraints.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated EDA tools are used to analyze circuit designs, then timing closure can be achieved, but the complexity of analyzing detailed log files and identifying problems increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer between the complex EDA analysis tools and the designer. This intermediary automatically parses detailed log files, identifies timing violations, and presents simplified problem descriptions with suggested solutions. The intermediary shields the designer from the complexity of log file analysis while maintaining productivity in achieving timing closure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by automatically analyzing design problems and generating suggested solutions without requiring expert intervention. The tool autonomously parses log files, identifies violations, and provides actionable recommendations, allowing novice users to resolve timing issues independently without needing application engineer assistance.
2Measurement precision
If detailed log files are analyzed to identify timing problems, then accurate problem identification is achieved, but the time required to understand and resolve issues increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by automatically analyzing log files and identifying timing violations before the designer needs to review them. The tool pre-processes the complex log data, extracts relevant timing violations, and presents them in a simplified format with suggested solutions ready for implementation, eliminating the time-consuming manual analysis step.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a simplified copy or representation of the complex timing violation data from log files. Instead of presenting raw log entries, the system generates simplified problem descriptions that capture the essential timing issues and their locations, making it easy for designers to understand and resolve problems quickly while maintaining accurate problem identification.
3Ease of operation
If tools hide the complexity of RTL to enable software designers to create circuit designs, then ease of use is improved, but the ability to diagnose and fix timing problems deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary that bridges the simplified design interface and the underlying RTL complexity. When timing violations occur, the intermediary automatically translates the high-level design intent into the specific RTL-level problems causing timing issues, providing suggested solutions that work within the simplified interface while accurately addressing the underlying complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service diagnosis by automatically analyzing timing violations and generating suggested solutions without requiring designers to understand RTL complexity. The tool autonomously connects the simplified design view with the underlying timing problems and provides actionable recommendations, maintaining ease of use while restoring diagnostic capability.
4Reliability
If expert assistance is sought to resolve timing problems, then solution quality is improved, but the time and effort required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by embedding expert-level analysis and solution generation capabilities directly into the automated tool. The system autonomously performs the tasks that previously required application engineers, including analyzing timing violations, understanding RTL complexity, and generating reliable solutions. This eliminates the need to seek external expert assistance while maintaining solution quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediary acts as an automated expert between the designer and the complex timing analysis requirements. It provides on-demand expert-level diagnostic and solution capabilities without requiring actual human experts, delivering reliable solutions instantly rather than requiring time-consuming consultation with application engineers.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed approaches for guiding actions in processing a circuit design include a design tool identifying first violations of design checks and determining severity levels of the first violations. The design tool determines for each violation, suggested actions associated with the violation and presents on a display, first data indicative of the suggested actions in order of the severity levels of the first violations. The first data include selectable objects, and each selectable object has an associated executable procedure. The design tool can execute the procedure associated with one of the selectable objects in response to selection and modify the circuit design in response to execution of the procedure.