An efficient heuristic procedure for solving the state assignment problem for event-based specifications

We propose a novel framework to solve the state assignment problem arising from the signal transition graph (STG) representation of an asynchronous circuit. We first establish a relation between STG´s and finite state machines (FSM´s). Then we solve the STG state assignment problem by minimizing the number of states in the corresponding FSM and by using a critical race-free state assignment technique. State signal transitions may be added to the original STG. A lower bound on the number of signals necessary to implement the STG is given. Our technique significantly increases the STG applicability as a specification for asynchronous circuits