Critical Path Selection for Delay Testing Considering Coupling Noise

The objective of delay testing is to detect any defects or variations that manifest into timing failures. In path based delay testing this is done by testing a subset of paths in the circuit that are more likely to fail and hence are critical. Since path delays are vector dependent, the set of critical paths selected depends on the vectors assumed when estimating the path delays. This implies that to find the real critical paths, it is important to consider the effect of dynamic (vector dependent) delay effects such as coupling noise and supply noise during path selection. In this work a methodology to incorporate the effect of coupling noise during path selection is described. For any given path, both logic and timing constraints are extracted and a constrained optimization problem is formulated to estimate the maximum path delay in the presence of coupling noise.     

Fast Variational Interconnect Delay and Slew Computation Using Quadratic Models

Interconnects constitute a dominant source of circuit delay for modern chip designs. The variations of critical dimensions in modern VLSI technologies lead to variability in interconnect performance that must be fully accounted for in timing verification. However, handling a multitude of inter-die/intra-die variations and assessing their impacts on circuit performance can dramatically complicate the timing analysis. In this paper, a practical interconnect delay and slew analysis technique is presented to facilitate efficient evaluation of wire performance variability. By harnessing a collection of computationally efficient procedures and closed-form formulas, process variations are directly mapped into the variability of the output delay and slew. An efficient method based on sensitivity analysis is implemented to calculate driving point models under variations for gate-level timing analysis. The proposed adjoint technique not only provides statistical performance variations of the interconnect network under analysis, but also produces delay and slew expressions parameterized in the underlying process variations in a quadratic parametric form. As such, it can be harnessed to enable statistical timing analysis while considering important statistical correlations. Our experimental results have indicated that the presented analysis is accurate regardless of location of sink nodes and it is also robust over a wide range of process variations.     

Physical timing modeling for bipolar VLSI

An approach for the analytical timing modeling of bipolar VLSI circuits that is based on average branch current analysis and the parametric correction scheme is presented. The combination of these techniques permits complex delay-sensitive effects of bipolar digital circuits to be incorporated in the derivation of the bipolar delay models. The delay functions of two basic bipolar subcircuit configurations (the series-gated structure and the emitter follower) are derived using the proposed techniques. It is shown that accurate timing information for the high-speed bipolar digital circuit, such as ECL, CML, and BiCMOS, can be obtained by repeated processing of these subcircuit delay functions. The delay estimates obtained with these timing models have been shown to be accurate typically within 10% of SPICE estimates. Applications include switch-level timing simulation, timing analysis and verification cell optimization, and technology mapping     

Hierarchical Delay Test Generation

Delay testing is used to detect timing errors in a digital circuit.In this paper, we report a tool called MODET forautomatic test generation for path delay faults in modular combinational circuits. Our technique usesprecomputed robust delay tests for individual modules to computerobust delay tests for the module-level circuit. We present alongest path theorem at the module level ofabstraction which specifies the requirements for path selectionduring delay testing. Based on this theorem, we propose a pathselection procedure in module-level circuits and report efficientalgorithms for delay test generation. MODET hasbeen tested against a number of hierarchical circuits with impressivespeedups in relation to gate-level test generation.     

Design and Application of Adaptive Delay Sequential Elements

Lower operating voltages and faster clock frequencies in advanced fabrication processes increase the circuit delay sensitivity to voltage, temperature, and process variations and modeling approximations. Uncorrelated delay variations along data and clock paths cause timing violations. In this paper, we propose a method for correcting timing violations by in-circuit tuning of clock latencies after fabrication. We introduce adaptive delay sequential elements (ADSEs) that use charge storage on pMOS floating gates to tune the clock latencies of timing critical flip-flops. ADSEs facilitate in-circuit optimization of clock latencies under varying operating conditions. ADSE tuned clock latencies are nonvolatile and can be repeatedly adjusted after fabrication using only electrical signals. We present examples of implicit and explicit pulsed ADSEs and their tuning operations. Our experiments with fabricated prototypes show that ADSEs can tune their clock latencies with picosecond resolution over one-half of the clock period. Our experiments also show that ADSE sensitivities to supply voltage, temperature, noise, and transistor mismatch are comparable to nonadaptive sequential elements. We present experimental data that show ADSE tuned delays change only 15% after ten years at 125degC. We propose a method for selective tuning of embedded ADSEs and demonstrate its application in a fabricated prototype. ADSEs can selectively replace timing-critical flip-flops of a circuit with negligible area impact     

一种借助时序检测系统进行时序验证的方法

论文介绍了在集成电路时序验证阶段如何借助时序检测系统对集成电路端口信号的建立时间和保持时间进行检测。     

Verification of the power-down mode of analog circuits by structural voltage propagation

In this paper, a new method for the verification of the power-down mode of analog circuits is presented. In power-down mode, internal nodes of the circuit can be floating. These nodes can cause short-circuit paths and reliability problems due to stress. However, automatic and reliable detection of floating nodes is not straightforward, because numerical simulation is often not trustworthy in the presence of floating nodes. The presented method estimates the node voltages in power-down mode by using a voltage propagation approach based on the circuit structure. No numerical simulation is needed. The circuit is transformed to a propagation graph which models the static behavior of the circuit. The propagation graph is scanned for short-circuit paths. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the presented method as well as common pitfalls of numerical simulation.     

采用精确时延模型基于路径的缓冲器插入时延优化

提出了一种基于路径的缓冲器插入时延优化算法,算法采用高阶模型估计连线时延,用基于查表的非线性时延模型估计门延迟.在基于路径的时延分析基础上,提出了缓冲器插入的时延优化启发式算法.工业测试实例实验表明,该算法能够有效地优化电路时延,满足时延约束.     

Testable design of BiCMOS circuits for stuck-open fault detectionusing single patterns

Single BJT BiCMOS devices exhibit sequential behavior under transistor stuck-OPEN (s-OPEN) faults. In addition to the sequential behavior, delay faults are also present. Detection of s-OPEN faults exhibiting sequential behavior needs two-pattern or multipattern sequences, and delay faults are all the more difficult to detect. A new design for testability scheme is presented that uses only two extra transistors to improve the circuit testability regardless of timing skews/delays, glitches, or charge sharing among internal nodes. With this design, only a single vector is required to test for a fault instead of the two-pattern or multipattern sequences. The testable design scheme presented also avoids the requirement of generating tests for delay faults     

采用精确时延模型基于路径的缓冲器插入时延优化

提出了一种基于路径的缓冲器插入时延优化算法 ,算法采用高阶模型估计连线时延 ,用基于查表的非线性时延模型估计门延迟 .在基于路径的时延分析基础上 ,提出了缓冲器插入的时延优化启发式算法 .工业测试实例实验表明 ,该算法能够有效地优化电路时延 ,满足时延约束     

Probabilistic delay evaluation in combinational digital circuits by petri nets

The present work considers the possibility of using Petri Nets (PN) as a systematic model to analyze delays in digital circuits. It has been found that PN's exhibit some interesting features in representing digital circuits at gate, element, unit or system level, whichever is needed. Furthermore, the logic verification can be achieved as a special case of the design verification because of the direct implementation of the thruth table of the circuit in the PN. In particular, a set of basic PN functions and a method of converting the circuit into the final PN, composed of the basic functions, are proposed. Moreover, an algorithm has been developed for the analysis of combinational circuits including also reconvergent fanouts and some examples are reported in the text. The algorithm may be employed to obtain the pdf of the overall circuit delay and to detect static hazards as well. The complexity of the model is directly related to that of the physical circuit to be analyzed, while the complexity of simulation does not increase with the timing precision required.     

移动数字电视调谐芯片中I2C接口电路设计

采用TSMC 0.13μm CMOS工艺,对多模多频段移动数字电视调谐芯片内I2C接口电路进行设计和验证.采用数字集成电路设计流程,详细验证接口电路的时序.布局布线后得到较为理想的版图面积与功耗.版图后仿真结果表明,在100 MHz时钟下,电路满足I2C协议的时序要求,可广泛应用于移动数字电视调谐芯片中.     

The delay vernier pattern generation technique

The authors describe a new technique for generating an arbitrary digital data stream with very fine timing resolution. Note that this timing resolution specifies the output edge placement precision, not the bit rate. The resolution is determined by the difference between two propagation delays rather than by an absolute delay. Because this difference can be made very small, the circuit, called the delay vernier generator, can achieve unprecedented timing resolution in a particular circuit technology. Also, this very precise timing is obtained without requiring an extremely high speed clock. The generator architecture includes delay-locked loop calibration mechanisms to compensate for process and temperature variations. A prototype chip was fabricated in a 1.2-μm CMOS technology, and measurements confirmed that resolutions as fine as 100 ps can be achieved reliably     

Toward architecture-based test-vector generation for timing verification of fast parallel multipliers

Fast parallel multipliers that contain logarithmic partial-product reduction trees pose a challenge to simulation-based high-accuracy timing verification, since the reduction tree has many reconvergent signal branches. However, such a multiplier architecture also offers a clue as how to attack the test-vector generation problem. The timing-critical paths are intimately associated with long carry propagation. We introduce a multiplier test-vector generation method that has the ability to exercise such long carry propagation paths. Through extensive circuit simulation and static timing analysis, we evaluate the quality of the test vectors that result from the new method. Especially for fast multipliers with a pronounced carry propagation, the timing-critical vectors manage to stimulate a path, which has a delay that comes close to the true worst case delay. We investigate the complexity and run-time for the test-vector generation, and derive timing-critical vectors up to a factor word length of 54 bits.     

Transition Path Delay Faults: A New Path Delay Fault Model for Small and Large Delay Defects

We propose a new path delay fault model called the transition path delay fault model. This model addresses the following issue. The path delay fault model captures small extra delays, such that each one by itself will not cause the circuit to fail, but their cumulative effect along a path from inputs to outputs can result in faulty behavior. However, non-robust tests for path delay faults may not detect situations where the cumulative effect of small extra delays is sufficient to cause faulty behavior after any number of extra delays are accumulated along a subpath. Under the new path delay fault model, a path delay fault is detected when all the single transition faults along the path are detected by the same test. This ensures that if the accumulation of small extra delays along a subpath is sufficient to cause faulty behavior, the faulty behavior will be detected due to the detection of a transition fault at the end of the subpath. We discuss the new model and present experimental results to demonstrate its viability as an alternative to the standard path delay fault model. We describe an efficient fault simulation procedure for this model. We also describe test generation procedures. An efficient test generation procedure we discuss combines tests for transition faults along the target paths in order to obtain tests that satisfy the requirements of the new model.     

A 1-V operating 256-kb full-CMOS SRAM

A 1-V operating 256-kb full-CMOS SRAM to be used in 1.5-V battery-based applications is presented. A reference word line and address transition detection (ATD) are used as timing control techniques to achieve adjustable timing of critical signals with a 1.5-V battery. The key circuit of the pulse sequence block is the ATD pulse generator circuit. The authors use a newly modified Schmitt trigger delay circuit. To reduce supply line noise in the chip, they needed to lower the peak of bit-line charge-up current. This was done by applying a divided word-line technique and a newly adopted staggered bit-line equalizing pulse technique. The design used a single-polysilicon and double-aluminum process with a full-CMOS memory cell of 8.5 μm×12.8 μm. The chip size is 6.0 mm×9.0 mm     

亚阈值电路单元延时波动统计建模方法

集成电路产业的不断发展以及行业对高能效的不断追求使得工艺尺寸不断缩小，越来越多的电路工作在亚阈值区，工艺参数波动导致电路延时呈现非高斯分布。统计静态时序分析作为先进工艺下用于分析时序的新手段，采用将工艺参数和延时用随机变量表示的方法，可以加速时序收敛，显示预期成品率。文章主要研究了亚阈值电路单元延时波动的统计建模方法。分别对单时序弧和多时序弧的蒙特卡洛金标准数据进行建模研究。提出了单时序弧单元延时的分布拟合统计建模方法，其误差小于6.30%。提出了多时序弧单元延时人工神经网络统计建模方法，其误差小于4.95%。     

Utilizing interdependent timing constraints to enhance robustness in synchronous circuits

Interdependent setup-hold times are exploited during the design process to improve the robustness of a circuit. Considering this interdependence only during static timing analysis (STA), as demonstrated in the previous work, is insufficient to fully exploit the capabilities offered by interdependence. This result is due to the strong dependence of STA results on the specific circuit, cell library, and operating frequency. Interdependence is evaluated in this paper for several technologies to determine the overall reduction in delay uncertainty rather than improvements in STA. Reducing delay uncertainty produces a more robust synchronous circuit. The increasing efficacy of interdependence in deeply scaled technologies is also demonstrated by investigating the effect of technology scaling on interdependent timing constraints.     

Analysis of the switching speed of BiCMOS buffer under high current

A nonlinear analytical transient response model that is suitable for BiCMOS driver circuits operating under the Kirk and Van der Ziel effect is presented. The model accounts for both base vertical push-out and lateral stretching phenomena where the forward transit time τ _f has a square law dependence on the collector current. Based on the new transient model, a closed-form BiCMOS delay expression is derived that shows excellent agreement with measured gate delay from a 0.8-μm BiCMOS technology. The comparison is made for a wide range of circuit parameters. The delay model can be used to develop timing analyzers, timing simulators, and circuit optimization tools for ULSI circuit design. As an application of the delay model, a circuit design algorithm is derived to optimize the speed-area performance of the BiCMOS buffers     

Min-max timing analysis and an application to asynchronous circuits

Modern high-performance asynchronous circuits depend on timing constraints for correct operation, so timing analyzers are essential asynchronous design tools. In this paper we present a 13-valued abstract waveform algebra and a polynomial-time min-max timing simulation algorithm for use in efficient, approximate timing analysis of asynchronous circuits with bounded component delays. Unlike several previous approaches, our algorithm computes separate propagation delay bounds from each circuit input to each internal gate. This is useful for analyzing asynchronous circuits, where the relative transition times of the inputs may not be known a priori, unlike synchronous circuits. We also describe an efficient reconvergent fanout analysis technique that helps in increasing the accuracy of simulation. We have applied our algorithm to build an efficient timing analysis tool for extended burst-mode circuits (a class of timing-dependent asynchronous circuits) implemented in the 30 design style. Our tool analyzes gate-level 30 circuits assuming bounded component delays and determines safe timing constraints for correct operation. Although our results represent conservative approximations to the true timing requirements in the worst case, experiments indicate that our technique is efficient and fairly accurate in practice