Automated simulation-based verification of power requirements for Systems-on-Chips

Today power dissipation is the most important constraint for Systems-on-Chips (SoCs). Consequently, it is necessary to consider power in the requirements of mobile, battery-powered devices in which SoCs are often used. These power requirements describe battery lifetime, power constraints and low-power states. Verification ensures that the system fulfills the power requirements. However, verifying all requirements of the complex SoC design needs considerable effort. We introduce a methodology to reduce the verification effort through a high degree of automation. Our novel approach to verify battery lifetime, power constraints and the power aware design comprises three parts. First, a semi-formal use case format unifies specification of power and system requirements. Second, these specifications are used to automatically derive test cases and to generate a verification environment. Third, fast simulation and power estimation are employed to verify battery lifetime, power constraints and the power aware design against the requirements.