Nonlinear relaxation algorithms for circuit simulation

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5275775

Saleh, R A

Circuit simulation is an important Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tool in the design of Integrated Circuits (IC). However, the standard techniques used in programs such as SPICE result in very long computer-run times when applied to large problems. In order to reduce the overall run time, a number of new approaches to circuit simulation were developed and are described. These methods are based on nonlinear relaxation techniques and exploit the relative inactivity of large circuits. Simple waveform-processing techniques are described to determine the maximum possible speed improvement that can be obtained by exploiting this property of large circuits. Three simulation algorithms are described, two of which are based on the Iterated Timing Analysis (ITA) method and a third based on the Waveform-Relaxation Newton (WRN) method. New programs that incorporate these techniques were developed and used to simulate a variety of industrial circuits. The results from these simulations are provided. The techniques are shown to be much faster than the standard approach. In addition, a number of parallel aspects of these algorithms are described, and a general space-time model of parallel-task scheduling is developed.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Berkeley (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5275775
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
420800* -- Engineering-- Electronic Circuits & Devices-- (-1989)
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990210 -- Supercomputers-- (1987-1989)
ALGORITHMS
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
PARALLEL PROCESSING
PROGRAMMING
SIMULATION