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Static Timing Analysis
Static timing analysis (STA) is a simulation method of computing the expected timing of a synchronous digital circuit without requiring a simulation of the full circuit. High-performance integrated circuits have traditionally been characterized by the clock frequency at which they operate. Measuring the ability of a circuit to operate at the specified speed requires an ability to measure, during the design process, its delay at numerous steps. Moreover, delay calculation must be incorporated into the inner loop of timing optimizers at various phases of design, such as logic synthesis, layout ( placement and routing), and in in-place optimizations performed late in the design cycle. While such timing measurements can theoretically be performed using a rigorous circuit simulation, such an approach is liable to be too slow to be practical. Static timing analysis plays a vital role in facilitating the fast and reasonably accurate measurement of circuit timing. The speedup comes fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synchronous Circuit
In digital electronics, a synchronous circuit is a digital circuit in which the changes in the state of memory elements are synchronized by a clock signal. In a sequential digital logic circuit, data are stored in memory devices called flip-flops or latches. The output of a flip-flop is constant until a pulse is applied to its "clock" input, upon which the input of the flip-flop is latched into its output. In a synchronous logic circuit, an electronic oscillator called the ''clock'' generates a string (sequence) of pulses, the "clock signal". This clock signal is applied to every storage element, so in an ideal synchronous circuit, every change in the logical levels of its storage components is simultaneous. Ideally, the input to each storage element has reached its final value before the next clock occurs, so the behaviour of the whole circuit can be predicted exactly. Practically, some delay is required for each logical operation, resulting in a maximum speed limitatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monotonic
In mathematics, a monotonic function (or monotone function) is a function between ordered sets that preserves or reverses the given order. This concept first arose in calculus, and was later generalized to the more abstract setting of order theory. In calculus and analysis In calculus, a function f defined on a subset of the real numbers with real values is called ''monotonic'' if and only if it is either entirely non-increasing, or entirely non-decreasing. That is, as per Fig. 1, a function that increases monotonically does not exclusively have to increase, it simply must not decrease. A function is called ''monotonically increasing'' (also ''increasing'' or ''non-decreasing'') if for all x and y such that x \leq y one has f\!\left(x\right) \leq f\!\left(y\right), so f preserves the order (see Figure 1). Likewise, a function is called ''monotonically decreasing'' (also ''decreasing'' or ''non-increasing'') if, whenever x \leq y, then f\!\left(x\right) \geq f\!\left(y\r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Signoff (electronic Design Automation)
In the automated design of integrated circuits, signoff (also written as sign-off) checks is the collective name given to a series of verification steps that the design must pass before it can be taped out. This implies an iterative process involving incremental fixes across the board using one or more check types, and then retesting the design. There are two types of sign-off's: front-end sign-off and back-end sign-off. After back-end sign-off the chip goes to fabrication. After listing out all the features in the specification, the verification engineer will write coverage for those features to identify bugs, and send back the RTL design to the designer. Bugs, or defects, can include issues like missing features (comparing the layout to the specification), errors in design (typo and functional errors), etc. When the coverage reaches a maximum% then the verification team will sign it off. By using a methodology like UVM, OVM, or VMM, the verification team develops a reusable envi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worst-case Execution Time
The worst-case execution time (WCET) of a computational task is the maximum length of time the task could take to execute on a specific hardware platform. What it is used for Worst case execution time is typically used in reliable real-time systems, where understanding the worst case timing behaviour of software is important for reliability or correct functional behaviour. As an example, a computer system that controls the behaviour of an engine in a vehicle might need to respond to inputs within a specific amount of time. One component that makes up the response time is the time spent executing the software – hence if the software worst case execution time can be determined, then the designer of the system can use this with other techniques such as schedulability analysis to ensure that the system responds fast enough. While WCET is potentially applicable to many real-time systems, in practice an assurance of WCET is mainly used by real-time systems that are related to hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timing Margin
Timing margin is an electronics term that defines the difference between the actual change in a signal and the latest time at which the signal can change in order for an electronic circuit to function correctly. It is used in the design of digital electronics. Illustration In this image, the lower signal is the clock and the upper signal is the data. Data is recognized by the circuit at the positive edge of the clock. There are two time intervals illustrated in this image. One is the setup time In electronics, a flip-flop or latch is a circuit that has two stable states and can be used to store state information – a bistable multivibrator. The circuit can be made to change state by signals applied to one or more control inputs an ..., and the other is the timing margin. The setup time is illustrated in red in this image; the timing margin is illustrated in green. The edges of the signals can shift around in a real-world electronic system for various reasons. If ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simulation
A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or process, whereas the simulation represents the evolution of the model over time. Often, computers are used to execute the computer simulation, simulation. Simulation is used in many contexts, such as simulation of technology for performance tuning or optimizing, safety engineering, testing, training, education, and video games. Simulation is also used with scientific modelling of natural systems or human systems to gain insight into their functioning, as in economics. Simulation can be used to show the eventual real effects of alternative conditions and courses of action. Simulation is also used when the real system cannot be engaged, because it may not be accessible, or it may be dangerous or unacceptable to engage, or it is being designed bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Logic Simulation
Logic simulation is the use of simulation software to predict the behavior of digital circuits and hardware description languages. Simulation can be performed at varying degrees of physical abstraction, such as at the transistor level, gate level, register-transfer level (RTL), electronic system-level (ESL), or behavioral level. Use in verification Logic simulation may be used as part of the verification process in designing hardware. Simulations have the advantage of providing a familiar look and feel to the user in that it is constructed from the same language and symbols used in design. By allowing the user to interact directly with the design, simulation is a natural way for the designer to get feedback on their design. Length of simulation The level of effort required to debug and then verify the design is proportional to the maturity of the design. That is, early in the design's life, bugs and incorrect behavior are usually found quickly. As the design matures, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Logic Analyzer
A logic analyzer is an electronic instrument that captures and displays multiple signals from a digital system or digital circuit. A logic analyzer may convert the captured data into timing diagrams, protocol decodes, state machine traces, assembly language, or may correlate assembly with source-level software. Logic analyzers have advanced triggering capabilities, and are useful when a user needs to see the timing relationships between many signals in a digital system. Overview Presently, there are three distinct categories of logic analyzers available on the market: * Modular LAs, which consist of both a chassis or mainframe and logic analyzer modules. The mainframe/chassis contains the display, controls, control computer, and multiple slots into which the actual data-capturing hardware is installed. The modules each have a specific number of channels, and multiple modules may be combined to obtain a very high channel count. While modular logic analyzers are typically more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Integrated Circuit Design
Integrated circuit design, or IC design, is a sub-field of electronics engineering, encompassing the particular logic and circuit design techniques required to design integrated circuits, or ICs. ICs consist of miniaturized electronic components built into an electrical network on a monolithic semiconductor substrate by photolithography. IC design can be divided into the broad categories of digital and analog IC design. Digital IC design is to produce components such as microprocessors, FPGAs, memories ( RAM, ROM, and flash) and digital ASICs. Digital design focuses on logical correctness, maximizing circuit density, and placing circuits so that clock and timing signals are routed efficiently. Analog IC design also has specializations in power IC design and RF IC design. Analog IC design is used in the design of op-amps, linear regulators, phase locked loops, oscillators and active filters. Analog design is more concerned with the physics of the semiconductor devic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electronic Design Automation
Electronic design automation (EDA), also referred to as electronic computer-aided design (ECAD), is a category of software tools for designing electronic systems such as integrated circuits and printed circuit boards. The tools work together in a design flow that chip designers use to design and analyze entire semiconductor chips. Since a modern semiconductor chip can have billions of components, EDA tools are essential for their design; this article in particular describes EDA specifically with respect to integrated circuits (ICs). History Early days Prior to the development of EDA, integrated circuits were designed by hand and manually laid out. Some advanced shops used geometric software to generate tapes for a Gerber photoplotter, responsible for generating a monochromatic exposure image, but even those copied digital recordings of mechanically drawn components. The process was fundamentally graphic, with the translation from electronics to graphics done manu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dynamic Timing Verification
Dynamic timing verification refers to verifying that an ASIC design is fast enough to run without errors at the targeted clock rate. This is accomplished by simulating the design files used to synthesize the integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ... (IC) design. This is in contrast to static timing analysis, which has a similar goal as dynamic timing verification except it does not require simulating the real functionality of the IC."ASIC world: vol 10", page 13, October 2003 Hobbyists often perform a type of dynamic timing verification when they over-clock the CPUs in their computers in order to find the fastest clock rate at which they can run the CPU without errors. This is a type of dynamic timing verification that is performed after the silicon is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statistical Static Timing Analysis
Conventional static timing analysis (STA) has been a stock analysis algorithm for the design of digital circuits over the last 30 years. However, in recent years the increased variation in semiconductor devices and interconnect has introduced a number of issues that cannot be handled by traditional (deterministic) STA. This has led to considerable research into statistical static timing analysis, which replaces the normal deterministic timing of gates and interconnects with probability distributions, and gives a distribution of possible circuit outcomes rather than a single outcome. Comparison with conventional STA Deterministic STA is popular for good reasons: *It requires no vectors, so it does not miss paths. *The run time is linear in circuit size (for the basic algorithm). *The result is conservative. *It typically uses some fairly simple libraries (typically delay and output slope as a function of input slope and output load). *It is easy to extend to incremental operation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
