The fair cycle detectiou problem is at the heart of both LTL and fair CTL model checking. This paper preseuts a new distributed scalable algorithm for explicit fair cycle detection. Our method combines the simplicity of the distributiou of explicitly preseuted data structure and the features of symbolic algorithm allowing for an efficient parallelisa- tion. If a fair cycle (i.e. couuterexample) is detected, theu the algorithm produces a cycle, which is in general shorter than that produced by depth-first search based algorithms, Experimental results confirm that our approach outperforms that based ou a direct implementation of the best sequential algorithm.

The biggest obstacle in the formal verification of large designs is their very large state spaces, which cannot be handled even by techniques such as implicit state space traversal. The only viable solution in most cases is validation by functional simulation. Unfortunately, this has the drawbacksof high computational requirements due to the large number of test vectors needed, and the lack of adequate coverage measures to characterize the quality of a given test set. To overcome these limitations, there has been recent interest in hybrid techniques which combine the strengths of formal verification and simulation. Formal verification-based techniques are used on a test model (usually muchsmaller than the design) to derive a set of functional test vectors, which are then used for design validation through simulation. The test set generated typically satisfies some coverage measure on the test model. Recent research has proposed the use of state or transition coverage. However, no effor...

In this paper we present several practical methods for formally verifying an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network switching fabric using the Verification Interacting with Synthesis (VIS) tool. We produced Verilog RTL behavioral and netlist structural descriptions of the switch fabric at different levels of hierarchy and established several abstracted models of the fabric. Using various techniques presented in the paper, we provided a number of relevant liveness and safety properties expressible in CTL, and accomplished their verification in reasonable CPU time. Moreover, we performed equivalence checking between the structural and behavioral descriptions of each submodule of the implementation hierarchy.

This paper presents a BDD-based implicit algorithm to compute all maximal strongly connected components of directed graphs. The algorithm iteratively applies reachability analysis and sequentially identifies SCCs. Experiments suggest that the algorithm dramatically outperforms the only existing implicit method which must compute the transitive closure of the adjacency-matrix of the graphs.

RDCs (Reachability Don’t Cares) can have a dramatic impact on the cost of CTL model checking [18]. Unfortunately, RDCs, being a global property, are often much more difficult to compute than the satisfying set of typical CTL formulas. We address this problem through the use of Approximate Reachability Don’t Cares (ARDCs), computed with the algorithms developed for the VERITAS sequential synthesis package [4, 5]. Approximate Reachable states represent an upper bound on the set of true reachable states, and thus a lower bound on the set of unreachable (Don’t Care) states. ARDCs can be 10X to 100X (or much more for very large circuits) cheaper to compute than RDCs, and in some cases have the same dramatic effect on CTL model checking as the real RDCs. We also discuss the application of ARDCs to the problem of exact computation of the RDCs themselves. Experiments on industrial benchmarks show that order of magnitude speedups are possible, and occur frequently. The experimental results presented strongly support our claim that ARDCs play a safe and important way out of a serious dilemma: RDCs are necessary for tractable model checking of many large circuits, but the computation of the RDCs themselves is often intractable. We include, and theoretically justify, significant extensions of the VERITAS algorithms, and show that they can be up to an order of magnitude faster, while computing a virtually identical upper bound. 1

Abstract not found

Functional dependency is concerned with rewriting a Boolean function f as a function h over a set of base functions {g 1, …, g n}, i.e. f = h(g1, …, gn). It plays an important role in many aspects of electronics design automation (EDA), ranging from logic synthesis to formal verification. Prior approaches to the exploration of functional dependency are based on binary decision diagrams (BDDs), which may not be easily scalable to large designs. This paper proposes a novel reformulation that extensively exploits the capability of modern satisfiability (SAT) solvers. Thereby, functional dependency is detected effectively through incremental SAT solving and the dependency function h, if exists, is obtained through Craig interpolation. The main strengths of the proposed approach include: (1) fast detection of functional dependency with small memory consumption and thus scalable to large designs, (2) a full capacity to handle a large set of base functions and thus discovering dependency whenever exists, and (3) potential application to large-scale logic optimization with different design constraints. Experimental results show the proposed method is far superior to prior work and scales well in dealing with the largest ISCAS89 and ITC99 benchmark circuits with up to 200K gates.

MOCHA is a model checker

Abstract. This paper describes a novel Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) logic synthesis technique which determines if a logic function can be implemented in a given programmable circuit and describes how this problem can be formalized and solved using Quantified Boolean Satisfiability. This technique is general enough to be applied to any type of logic function and programmable circuit; thus, it has many applications to FPGAs. The applications demonstrated in this paper include FPGA technology mapping and resynthesis where their results show significant FPGA performance improvements. 1

The automation of the design of electronic systems and circuits [electronic design automation (EDA)] has a history of strong innovation. The EDA business has profoundly influenced the integrated circuit (IC) business and vice-versa. This paper reviews the technologies, algorithms, and methodologies that have been used in EDA tools and the business impact of these technologies. In particular, we will focus on four areas that have been key in defining the design methodologies over time: physical design, simulation /verification, synthesis, and test. We then look briefly into the future. Design will evolve toward more software programmability or some other kind of field configurability like field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). We discuss the kinds of tool sets needed to support design in this environment.