The petrol approach to high-level power estimation

ABSTRACT

High-level power estimation is essential for designing complex low-power ICs. However, the lack of flexibility, or restriction to synthesizable code of previously presented high-level power estimation approaches limits their use. In this paper we present a novel, more general and flexible high-level power estimation approach, that avoids these limitations. Petrol, as we call it, is not limited to specialized application domains, synthesizable VHDL, or data path parts of a design. We show that glitches can be usefully modeled at higher levels of abstraction. The Petrol approach shows good correlation with gate-level power estimates. It is currently used for commercial designs.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  B. Hardware
  B.7 INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Additional Classification:
  B. Hardware
  B.6 LOGIC DESIGN
      B.6.3 Design Aids
          Subjects: Hardware description languages
  B.8 Performance and Reliability

  J. Computer Applications
  J.2 PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING
      Subjects: Electronics

General Terms:
Design, Languages, Measurement, Performance, Theory