VARIATION-AWARE DESIGN ANALYSIS
First Claim
1. A system that evaluates designs for a microprocessor circuit, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer processor, cause the computer processor to perform the steps of:
- receiving a proposed design for the microprocessor circuit;
selecting a first analysis of interest from a set of analyses of interest that evaluates values of a first microprocessor measurement of interest;
selecting a first set of circuit parameters from a set of representative circuit parameters having analysis-specific stimuli as a function of the first analysis of interest and the proposed design;
applying the first set of circuit parameters to the proposed design to construct a first analysis-specific simulation model;
deriving a first set of analysis-specific custom corners for the proposed design as a function of the first analysis-specific simulation model; and
simulating the first analysis-specific simulation model as a function of the first set of analysis-specific custom corners to derive a first set of worst-case values for the first microprocessor measurement of interest.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A microprocessor evaluation system evaluates a microprocessor circuit by using analysis-specific custom corners that are derived specifically for the analysis of interest. Circuit parameters specific to the analysis of interest are applied to a proposed design to derive the custom corners, which will trigger violations more accurately than corners selected using traditional methods. The custom corners could also be reused in between design phases to reduce redesign simulation time. Local process parameters could be taken into account using worst-case local parameter offsets to detect violations in a far more accurate manner than using generic guard-band budgets.
23 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system that evaluates designs for a microprocessor circuit, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer processor, cause the computer processor to perform the steps of:
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receiving a proposed design for the microprocessor circuit; selecting a first analysis of interest from a set of analyses of interest that evaluates values of a first microprocessor measurement of interest; selecting a first set of circuit parameters from a set of representative circuit parameters having analysis-specific stimuli as a function of the first analysis of interest and the proposed design; applying the first set of circuit parameters to the proposed design to construct a first analysis-specific simulation model; deriving a first set of analysis-specific custom corners for the proposed design as a function of the first analysis-specific simulation model; and simulating the first analysis-specific simulation model as a function of the first set of analysis-specific custom corners to derive a first set of worst-case values for the first microprocessor measurement of interest. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of evaluating designs for a microprocessor circuit, the method comprising:
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receiving a proposed design for the microprocessor circuit; receiving a first analysis of interest that evaluates values of a first microprocessor measurement of interest; identifying a first set of circuit parameters having analysis-specific simuli as a function of the first analysis of interest and the proposed design; producing first analysis-specific simulation model as a function of the first set of circuit parameters; deriving a first set of analysis-specific custom corners for the proposed design as a function of the first analysis-specific simulation model; and simulating the first analysis-specific simulation model as a function of the first set of analysis-specific custom corners to derive a first set of worst-case values for the first microprocessor measurement of interest. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer system that evaluates designs for a microprocessor circuit, the computer system comprising:
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a user interface programmed to; receive a proposed design for the microprocessor circuit, and receive a selection of a first analysis of interest from a set of analyses of interest that evaluates values of a first microprocessor measurement of interest; and a computer processor programmed to; select a first set of circuit parameters from a set of representative circuit parameters having analysis-specific stimuli as a function of the first analysis of interest and the proposed design, apply the first set of circuit parameters to the proposed design to construct a first analysis-specific simulation model, derive a first set of analysis-specific custom corners for the proposed design as a function of the first analysis-specific simulation model, and simulate the first analysis-specific simulation model as a function of the first set of analysis-specific custom corners to derive a first set of worst-case values for the first microprocessor measurement of interest. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification