A Hierarchical Timing Simulation Model for Digital Integrated Circuits and Systems

Lin, 1985

Category: EDA

Overall Rating

1.4/5 (10/35 pts)

This paper describes a timing simulation methodology rooted in 1980s understanding of linear RC circuit behavior and relaxation algorithms.
the paper's specific technical framework—its simplified device models, parameterization, and algorithms—is fundamentally inadequate for capturing critical physical effects in modern semiconductor technologies...
has been superseded by vastly more accurate and efficient approaches like Static Timing Analysis.
The speculative potential for applying this specific framework to analogous problems in other domains is unlikely to yield a competitive advantage over modern, domain-specific simulation techniques without prohibitive fundamental rework.

the specific combination of the R, C, D, Q, D* parameterization for two-port networks... and the Load Redistribution (LRD) relaxation algorithm for general RC networks (including bridges) presents a potentially underexplored framework for modeling and simulating complex physical systems outside of electrical engineering.
Modeling complex 3D chip stacks, microfluidic cooling, or battery thermal runaway often involves heat diffusion networks (thermal resistance and capacitance).
The R, C, D, Q, D* parameters could potentially be adapted to model complex thermal components... as parameterized "thermal ports," with composition rules...
Modeling diffusion and transport of molecules in complex biological tissues... involves networks with flow resistance (R), storage capacity (C), and internal reaction/transport dynamics (D).

The core assumption that digital MOS circuits can be sufficiently approximated by linear RC networks for timing analysis is fundamentally challenged by decades of CMOS process scaling.
The two-port RC network parameters... and the relaxation-based LRD algorithm were not designed to handle these electromagnetic complexities accurately.
the industry standard for signoff timing verification today is Static Timing Analysis (STA).
The reliance on manual or custom specification of behavioral models for 'semantic cells' is a significant practical limitation.

Ignore