A unified methodology for pre-silicon verification and post-silicon validation

The growing importance of post-silicon validation in ensuring functional correctness of high-end designs increases the need for synergy between the pre-silicon verification and post-silicon validation. We propose a unified functional verification methodology for the pre- and post-silicon domains. This methodology is based on a common verification plan and similar languages for test-templates and coverage models. Implementation of the methodology requires a user-directable stimuli generation tool for the post-silicon domain. We analyze the requirements for such a tool and the differences between it and its pre-silicon counterpart. Based on these requirements, we implemented a tool called Threadmill and used it in the verification of the IBM POWER7 processor chip with encouraging results.