( ESNUG 447 Item 8 ) -------------------------------------------- [09/26/05]
From: David McAllister <david.mcallister=user domain=honeywell spot calm>
Subject: Synopsys ESP Functional Equivalence Tool Kicks Ass on Memories
Hi, John,
The first several passes I ran on some memories in Synopsys ESP all passed.
This seemed just too good to be true. I suspected the tool may not have
been operating properly or maybe something was wrong with my setup. To test
it, I introduced some errors in a design like disconnecting a word line.
ESP found the errors. In another case, a pulse generator added to a design
produced an error with ESP. I added several more delay stages to increase
the generated pulse width and it passed. I saw basically the same pass/fail
scenarios when I simulated with Spice. That is, ESP can handle analog type
circuits such as sense amps, pulse generators, which settle to a digital
state.
Functional verification of our embedded SRAMs using vector-based simulation
used to take us several weeks with limited coverage. With Synopsys ESP
it now literally takes minutes! The coverage is complete due to symbolic
modeling.
ESP is a must have tool for memory design!
- David McAllister
Honeywell Plymouth, MN
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