Transient noise bounds using vectorless power grid verification

Efficient power grid verification, critical in modern integrated circuits, is computationally demanding because of increasing grid sizes. Vectorless approach to grid verification estimates worst-case voltage noises without detailed evaluation of load current excitations. We study voltage noise assessment in RLC models of VDD and GND networks in integrated power grids. Transitory circuit behaviours are captured by transient constraints, while abstract grid model is utilized to accelerate convergence. Heuristics are proposed to extract constraints that restrict power consumption profiles to realistic scenarios. Bounds on voltage overshoots and undershoots are evaluated by formulating multiple optimization problems. We propose ways to mitigate storage and computational requirements on processing resources, enabling users to deploy computations on economical Cloud Computing platforms. Recommended solution is parallelizable, thereby reducing the overall verification time. Experimental results suggest that the proposed technique is practical and scalable for industrial grids.