Formally proving the functional equivalence of pipelined designs containing memories

US7389479B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• SYNOPSYS, INC. · US

Inventors

• Alfred Koelbl · Dachau, DE
• Jerry R. Burch · Portland, US
• Carl Preston Pixley · Beaverton, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 17, 2006
• Grant date: Jun 17, 2008
• Expiry date: Feb 16, 2027

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F30/3323
• WIPO field: Computer technology
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that formally proves the functional equivalence of pipelined designs. First, the system receives a specification for a first pipelined design, which includes a first memory system, and a specification for a second pipelined design, which includes a second memory system. Next, the system determines a correspondence between operations on the first memory system and corresponding operations on the second memory system. This correspondence enables memory operations to be represented in a combinational form based on design inputs, thereby allowing both memory systems to be logically abstracted out of their respective designs. After the memory systems have been abstracted out, the system compares the combinational outputs of the first pipelined design and the combinational outputs of the second pipelined design to verify that the designs are functionally equivalent.