Method for comprehensive integration verification of mixed-signal circuits
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorSudhakar Surendran
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed examples include methods for verifying mixed-signal circuit design, in which an executable specification file is generated including integration abstractions that represent an intended integration of ports and digital circuit blocks of the mixed-signal design, a formal properties file is automatically generated from the executable specification file, an analog circuit component of the mixed-signal circuit design is modeled as a digital circuit component in a model file, at least one analog circuit block of the mixed-signal circuit design is modeled as one or more ports in the model file, and correspondence of connections of the formal properties file and the model file is verified with the mixed-signal circuit design to generate a coverage report file.
Claims11
A method to verify integration of a mixed-signal circuit design, the method comprising:
- generating an executable specification file in a column and row format, the executable specification file including a plurality of integration abstractions that represent an intended integration of ports, analog circuit blocks, and digital circuit blocks of the mixed-signal design, wherein a first column represents ports, wherein a second column represents control logic as integration abstractions, and wherein one or more columns each represent one of the analog or digital circuit blocks and in which an entry indicates a connection within the mixed-signal design;
- processing the integration abstractions in the executable specification file using a processor executing a software program to generate a formal properties file;
- modeling an analog circuit component of the mixed-signal circuit design as a digital circuit component in a model file;
- modeling at least one analog circuit block of the mixed-signal circuit design as one or more ports in the model file;
- and
- verifying correspondence of connections and integration of the formal properties file and the model file with the mixed-signal circuit design using a processor executing an electronic design automation (EDA) tool to generate a coverage report file
- wherein at least one of the integration abstractions in the executable specification file is of one of a plurality of construct types comprising:
- a first construct for representing assignment of internal direct connections of the mixed-signal design;
- a second construct indicating at least one logic expression for representing conditional logic expressions in the control logic of the mixed-signal design;
- a third construct for representing unconnected external ports of the mixed-signal circuit design;
- or
- a fourth construct for representing switched internal connections of the mixed-signal design.
A method of verifying integration of a mixed-signal circuit design, the method comprising:
- generating an executable specification file in an extended markup language (XML) format, the executable specification file including a plurality of integration abstractions that represent an intended integration of ports and digital and analog circuit blocks of the mixed-signal design;
- processing the integration abstractions in the executable specification file, using a processor executing a software program, to generate a formal properties file representing the intended integration of ports and digital and analog circuit blocks of the mixed-signal design;
- modeling an analog circuit component of the mixed-signal circuit design as a digital circuit component in a model file for verification using an electronic design automation (EDA) tool
- wherein at least one of the integration abstractions in the executable specification file is of one of a plurality of construct types comprising:
- a first construct for representing assignment of internal direct connections of the mixed-signal design;
- a second construct indicating at least one logic expression for representing conditional logic expressions in the control logic of the mixed-signal design;
- a third construct for representing unconnected external ports of the mixed-signal circuit design;
- or
- a fourth construct for representing switched internal connections of the mixed-signal design.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.