Using MaxBMC for Pareto-optimal circuit initialization

In this paper we present MaxBMC, a novel formalism for solving optimization problems in sequential systems. Our approach combines techniques from symbolic SAT-based Bounded Model Checking (BMC) and incremental MaxSAT, leading to the first MaxBMC solver. In traditional BMC safety and liveness properties are validated. We extend this formalism: in case the required property is satisfied, an optimization problem is defined to maximize the quality of the reached witnesses. Further, we compare its qualities in different depths of the system, leading to Pareto-optimal solutions. We state a sound and complete algorithm that not only tackles the optimization problem but moreover verifies whether a global optimum has been identified by using a complete BMC solver as back-end. As a first reference application we present the problem of circuit initialization. Additionally, we give pointers to other tasks which can be covered by our formalism quite naturally and further demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of our approach.