Silicon Valley Patent Group LLP
Method for automatically searching for functional defects in a description of a circuit
A programmed computer searches for functional defects in a description of a circuit undergoing functional verification in the following manner. The programmed computer simulates the functional behavior of the circuit in response to a test vector, automatically restores the state of the simulation without causing the simulation to pass through a reset state, and then simulates the functional behavior of the circuit in response to another test vector. A predetermined rule can be used to identify test vectors to be simulated, and the predetermined rule can depend upon a measure of functional verification, including the number of times during simulation when a first state transition is performed by a first controller at the same time as a second state transition is performed by a second controller. During simulation of the test vectors, manually generated tests or automatically generated checkers can monitor portions of the circuit for defective behavior.
Mentor Graphics Corporation
G
G01R
inventional
Kalyana C. Chian-Min Richard Paul Andrew Ping Fai Paul Il Robert Kristianto David Lansing Tai An Lawrence Curtis Jean-Charles Jing Chyuarn
Mulam Ho Wilcox Yeung Estrada Mardjuki Dill Ly Widdoes, Jr. Giomi Lin