Efficient analog verification against Trojan states using divide and contraction method

Identifying and removing the undesired stable operating point (also called “Trojan state” in analog circuit) is one of the most important problems in circuit design. In this paper, an innovative divide and contraction verification method against Trojan states is proposed. Unlike the traditional methods to find all operating points, it only targets searching the voltage interval containing undesired stable operating point. Based on this, a monotonic divide and contraction algorithm (MDC) is proposed, it could verify the existence of Trojan state in high efficiency. Simulation results show that this method is effective and efficient in identifying Trojan states and verifying the efficacy of Trojan state Elimination (TSE) circuits which is commonly termed start-up circuits.