Timing Analysis
It is important in physical design because we need to know how fast the chip is going to run, how fast the chip is going to interact with the other chips, and how fast the input reaches the output.
Timing analysis must make sure that any clocks produced by the logic are accurate, have a known phase connection to other clock signals of importance, and have defined periods and duty cycles.
STA, or static timing analysis, is a technique for assessing a design’s timing performance by scanning all potential corner pathways for timing errors without the need for simulation.
What is Static Timing Analysis (STA)?
Static timing analysis (STA) is a technique for evaluating the timing performance of a design. In STA, a design is divided into timing paths, the signal propagation delay along each path is calculated, and timing restrictions inside the design and at the input/output interface are checked for violations.
Categories of paths for static timing analysis
- Input to Output (I2O).
- Input to Register (I2R).
- Register to Register (R2R).
- Register to Output (R2O).
Static Timing Analysis Hint
- Define the constraints for all primary inputs and primary outputs.
- You can specify timing exceptions for certain paths if they are not timing-critical.
- Do a floor plan first and do a rough estimate.