An implication-based method to detect multi-cycle paths in large sequential circuits

This paper proposes a fast multi-cycle path analysis method for large sequential circuits. It determines whether or not all the paths between every flip-flop pair are multi-cycle paths. The proposed method is based on ATPG techniques, especially on implication techniques, to utilize circuit structure and multi-cycle path condition directly. The method also checks whether or not the multi-cycle path may be invalidated by static hazards in combinational logic parts. Experimental results show that our method is much faster than conventional ones