High-Speed Concurrent Fault Simulation with Vectors and Scalars

Basic goals for logic and fault simulation are accuracy, execution speed, and modeling ease. Accuracy means that adequate state and timing detail must be maintained, and that good and faulted networks must be simulated with equal accuracy. High speed simulation is desirable to perform massive fault simulations of large networks, and modeling ease is desirable to build models easily and quickly. It should be observed that some of the above goals are in mutual conflict. For example, modeling ease and high execution speed are normally only achievable by a sacrifice in accuracy, and high accuracy is only possible by more elaborate modeling efforts or slower execution speeds, or both. As a consequence it becomes important to achieve a balance between these goals. The balance achieved here, in part dictated by the demands of fault simulation, emphasizes execution speed, adequate accuracy, and a simple modeling method. A new logic and fault simulator, VOTE (Verification of Test Effectiveness) is described. The specifics to be described here fall into two categories: those which are of general interest, and those which are strictly implementation items.