Statistical Timing Analysis: From Basic Principles to State of the Art

Static-timing analysis (STA) has been one of the most pervasive and successful analysis engines in the design of digital circuits for the last 20 years. However, in recent years, the increased loss of predictability in semiconductor devices has raised concern over the ability of STA to effectively model statistical variations. This has resulted in extensive research in the so-called statistical STA (SSTA), which marks a significant departure from the traditional STA framework. In this paper, we review the recent developments in SSTA. We first discuss its underlying models and assumptions, then survey the major approaches, and close by discussing its remaining key challenges.