Patent · US Expired

Switch level simulation with cross-coupled devices

US6408264B1 · kind B1 · utility

3Cited by
11References
25Claims
0Family size

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Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 23, 1999
Grant dateJun 18, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 23, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F30/33
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A switch level simulation system includes a netlister, a cross-coupled device detector, a cross-coupled device transformer and a switch level simulator. The user provides a circuit a design to the netlister, which generates a netlist of the circuit. The cross-coupled device detector searches the netlist to find all of the cross-coupled devices in the circuit design. The cross-coupled device detector also determines whether the cross-coupled device has a “rail” node directly connected an external voltage source line. The cross-coupled device transformer transforms each cross-coupled device having a rail node into a transformed cross-coupled device by inserting in the netlist a device at the rail node mirroring the enable device. The mirror device allows the transformed cross-coupled device to provide a high impedance state to emulate the meta-stable state of the cross-coupled device during switch level simulation. The switch level simulator then performs simulations using the netlist with the transformed cross-coupled devices. This technique avoids the need to construct behavioral models of the cross-coupled devices, significantly reducing the engineering resources neede…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.