Avoiding Pitfalls While Specifying Timing Exceptions


Timing exceptions are commonly used to meet timing goals while implementing a design. These exceptions typically cover asynchronous paths like clock domain crossings (CDC) or synchronous paths where timing is either not relevant (e.g., set_false_path command in SDC) or can be relaxed (e.g., set_multicycle_path command in SDC), instructing static timing analysis (STA) and implementation tools to... » read more

The X Factor


By Ed Sperling The number of unknowns is growing in every segment of SoC design all the way through manufacturing, raising the stakes between reliability and the tradeoffs necessary to meet market windows. Tools are available to deal with some of these unknowns, or X’s, but certainly not all of them. Moreover, no single tool can handle all unknowns, some of which can build upon other unkn... » read more

Rethinking Timing Optimization


By Ann Steffora Mutschler As semiconductor manufacturing technology continues its march toward 20nm, SoCs are plagued with advanced interconnect delays, cross capacitance, and process variability, as well as area and power constraints—and the significance of these factors is increasing with each passing node. “With lower nodes we are getting advantage on area, more and more logic is get... » read more

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