Automatic addition of reset in asynchronous sequential control circuits

Asynchronous finite state machines (AFSMs) usually require initialization to place them in a desired starting state. This normally occurs by toggling a reset signal upon power-up. This paper presents an algorithm to automatically generate power-up reset circuitry thus adding reset to an AFSM after technology mapping. This approach is independent of design methodology since it is applied to a gate netlist. The algorithm ensures all combinational cycles and primary outputs in the circuit are initialized. Options exist in reset generation to minimize the power or performance impact on the AFSM. Results are reported for applying this algorithm to designs of varying size and complexity.