Static Violation Root Cause Analysis Using Repository Pruning

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for static verification of system-on-chip (SOC) designs, such as VC-Static, require significant manual analysis to identify the root cause of complex static violations, which is time-consuming and inefficient, especially when dealing with large and complex designs.

Innovation Solution

An automated root cause analysis framework and static information repository are introduced to systematically prune and analyze data, utilizing domain knowledge-based intelligence to identify the root cause of design violations by querying relevant debug fields and databases.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If manual analysis is used to identify root cause of complex static violations, then analysis accuracy is improved, but debug time and efficiency deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveroot cause identification accuracyVSAvoiddebug time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-processing design information and storing it in a structured information repository before root cause analysis is needed. Debug fields are extracted and organized in advance, so when a violation occurs, the system can quickly query pre-processed data rather than analyzing raw design information from scratch, significantly reducing debug time while maintaining accuracy

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

An information repository acts as an intermediary between the violation report and the root cause identification process. This repository stores pre-processed design information, debug fields, and analysis data in a structured format, serving as a mediator that enables fast automated querying and analysis without requiring direct manual examination of the original complex design data

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If automated analysis is implemented, then debug time is reduced, but analysis depth and accuracy may deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedebug efficiencyVSAvoidroot cause identification accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the automated analysis framework iteratively refines its queries based on initial results. The system can identify potential root causes, then automatically query additional relevant debug fields and analysis information to verify and refine the identification, ensuring high accuracy while maintaining automated efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces manual mechanical analysis with an automated intelligent system that uses algorithms to query the information repository, analyze debug fields, and identify root causes. This substitution maintains or improves accuracy while dramatically increasing productivity by eliminating manual analysis steps

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Reliability

If comprehensive data is stored in information repository, then analysis completeness is improved, but data complexity and processing overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveanalysis completenessVSAvoiddata structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The information repository is segmented into multiple organized components including debug fields, design information, analysis data, and metadata. Each segment serves a specific purpose and can be independently queried, which maintains comprehensive data for complete analysis while reducing overall system complexity through modular organization

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different portions of the information repository are optimized for different purposes: some areas store detailed design information for completeness, while other areas store summarized or pre-processed data for faster querying. This local optimization ensures analysis completeness where needed while reducing processing overhead in other areas

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS11556406B2Automatic root cause analysis of complex static violations by static information repository exploration

Publication Date: 2023.01.17 SYNOPSYS INC

AI summary

The independent claims of this patent signify a concise description of embodiments. An automatic process for determining and/or predicting the original root-cause(s) of a violation is proposed using two major enhancements on top of the current VC-Static solution. First, an information repository is created by mining various Static checker components' analysis information, and second, an analysis framework is created which systematically prunes the above-mentioned information repository to find the actual root cause(s) of the violation. This Abstract is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.