Event-Driven Static Timing Analysis for Complex Clock Path Tracing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing static timing analysis methods for digital circuit designs, such as depth-first search (DFS) and breadth-first search (BFS), are inadequate for accurately tracing timing paths, particularly in complex clock networks, and require manual intervention to avoid false paths and model clock circuits, leading to inefficiencies and potential errors.
Innovation Solution
An event-driven static timing analysis approach that propagates primordial events through a digital circuit design based on time ordering, using a priority queue to sort events by timestamp, allowing for accurate tracking of temporal logic and power consumption, and detecting glitches without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If depth-first search (DFS) or breadth-first search (BFS) is used for static timing analysis, then timing paths can be identified, but the accuracy of timing path tracing deteriorates in complex clock networks and requires manual intervention to avoid false paths
Solution Approach 1:
The event-driven static timing analysis automatically traces timing paths by propagating events through the circuit based on temporal ordering, eliminating the need for manual intervention to guide the search process or specify input vectors, thereby achieving accurate timing path tracing in complex clock networks without requiring complex manual modeling
2Reliability
If manual intervention is used to avoid false paths and model clock circuits, then timing analysis can be guided, but inefficiencies and potential errors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically performs timing analysis by propagating events through the circuit based on their timestamps, eliminating manual guidance and reducing both the potential for human error and the time required for analysis, while maintaining high reliability through systematic event propagation
3Productivity
If event-driven static timing analysis is implemented, then runtime is reduced and path coverage is exhaustive, but the complexity of event propagation logic increases
Solution Approach 1:
The event-driven approach dynamically processes events in temporal order using a priority queue, allowing the system to adaptively trace only the relevant timing paths based on event timestamps, which reduces runtime and achieves exhaustive path coverage while managing complexity through systematic event processing
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes: receiving a circuit design including circuit stages; deriving initial logic conditions for nets in a fanout cone from an input port in accordance with a primordial event; initializing a priority queue of logic transition events with the primordial event; determining a trigger event from the priority queue, the trigger event having a timestamp equal to or earlier than all others in the priority queue and representing a logic transition at an input pin of a current circuit stage; simulating an arc of the circuit design from the input pin of the current circuit stage to an input pin of a fanout circuit stage to generate a propagated event; computing a propagated event timestamp based on: the trigger event timestamp; and a delay associated with the arc; enqueuing the propagated event on the priority queue; and generating a static analysis report based on the propagated event timestamp.