In this paper, a novel globally asynchronous locally synchronous (GALS) modeling and verification tool is introduced for xMAS circuits. The tool provides a structured environment for GALS in which organization of the modeling and verification enables it to handle a variety of implementation tasks facilitating a process which would otherwise be difficult for the end user. The tool provides verification techniques at different levels. A new unfolding algorithm is presented that uses structured occurrence nets. A novel representation for deadlocks is introduced using deadlock relations enabling the causality of local and global deadlocks to be visualized. This helps in the investigation of total or partial system shutdown. In particular, the approach enables the visualization of point-to-point causality of problems occurring between different parts of the system which are more difficult to analyze. In addition different types of deadlock related to the synchronizer can be detected. The work presented here provides structured visualization capability facilitating the analysis of complex communication systems.

Process parameter variability in IC manufacturing has become an increasingly important issue as feature scaling descends further into the deep submicron region. Within industry the development of EDA tools associated with “process-aware-design” has a high priority as the impact on circuit performance due to process variations is having increasingly adverse effects on yield and performance. VARMA is a variability analysis tool which enables optimisation of both manufacturing process and nano-electronic circuit design in order to avoid `manufacturing surprises' resulting in costly chip respins, delays in reaching the market place and the subsequent loss of profitability.

The choice of radix is crucial for multivalued logic synthesis. Practical examples, however, reveal that it is not always possible to find the optimal radix when taking into consideration actual physical parameters of multivalued operations. In other words, each radix has its advantages and disadvantages. Our proposal is to synthesize logic in different radices, so it may benefit from their combination. The theory presented in this paper is based on Reed-Muller expansions over Galois field arithmetic. The work aims to first estimate the potential of the new approach and to second analyze its impact on circuit parameters down to the level of physical gates. The presented theory has been applied to real-life examples focusing on cryptographic circuits where Galois Fields find frequent application. The benchmark results show that the approach creates a new dimension for the trade-off between circuit parameters and provides information on how the implemented functions are related to different radices.

A new balanced library is presented which consists of novel mixed 1-of-2 and 1-of-4 components based on N-nary logic. Cryptographic circuit specifications are refined and passed to optimization and mapping tools for mapping to a library of power-balanced components. Logic optimization tools are then applied to generate secure synchronous circuits for layout generation. This paper presents a new technique for evaluating the security of such circuits in particular those which offer a higher level of protection. A security metric is introduced which is based on the common selection function that is widely used in differential power analysis attacks and a correlation measure similar to the one used in correlation power analysis attacks. This is used to compare the security level for these kinds of balanced circuits that are more difficult to attack. This paper shows that the circuits generated are more efficient and can offer more security than alternative solutions.

A new low-cost low-complexity checker for online testing of asynchronous interfaces in globally-asynchronous locally-synchronous circuits is proposed. The solution is fully based upon the standard gate libraries. The checker itself is fully offline testable. It also provides a fault-locating functionality, which is achieved by combining the online mode with scan techniques

We present a new CAD tool set for generating asynchronous circuits from high-level Verilog level-sensitive specifications. Initially, high-level Verilog descriptions are compiled and converted into a novel intermediate Petri net format. The intermediate format is subsequently passed to optimization tools and mapping tools where it is directly mapped into asynchronous datapath and control circuits using David cells (DCs). Finally, logic optimization tools are applied to generate speed-independent (SI) circuits. The speed independent circuits generated perform well compared to circuits generated by existing asynchronous tools.