General Description: Why does Xilinx support equivalency checking?
Solution
1
With device size and design complexity both increasing, functional simulation is becoming very time-consuming for both testbench generation and simulation run-time. Formal verification is attractive because of its short run-time and complete functional coverage.
In addition, formal verification is a proven technology in the ASIC design environment. As more ASIC designers begin to design with FPGAs, formal verification is becoming an increasingly important flow for design.
2
For related PrimeTime information, please also see the following Answer Records:
(Xilinx Answer 12802) - "What is formal verification?" (Xilinx Answer 12803) - "What types of users will be interested in the formal verification flow?" (Xilinx Answer 12804) - "Does Xilinx support equivalence checking and model checking?" (Xilinx Answer 12805) - "Does Xilinx support equivalency checking for RTL-to-RTL, RTL-to-Gate, or Gate-to-Gate?" (Xilinx Answer 12807) - "Does Xilinx plan to support model checking?" (Xilinx Answer 12808) - "Should equivalency checking replace simulation?" (Xilinx Answer 12809) - "When should I use equivalency checking?" (Xilinx Answer 12810) - "How will I benefit from using equivalency checking?" (Xilinx Answer 12811) - "Can I use equivalency checking to re-target an FPGA to an ASIC? If so, how?" (Xilinx Answer 12812) - "Which equivalency-checking tool vendors does Xilinx support?" (Xilinx Answer 12813) - "What platforms does Xilinx support?" (Xilinx Answer 12814) - "I am a current Formality/Conformal customer. Who should I contact for support-related issues?" (Xilinx Answer 12815) - "Are application notes regarding verification flow available?" (Xilinx Answer 12816) - "What are the limitations of the verification flows?" (Xilinx Answer 12817) - "Does the verification flow work with the Synopsys FCII, Synplicity Synplify, and Mentor LeonardoSpectrum synthesis tools?" (Xilinx Answer 12818) - "Does the verification flow work with all languages?" (Xilinx Answer 12820) - "Who supplies libraries?" (Xilinx Answer 12821) - "What libraries does Xilinx provide?" (Xilinx Answer 12822) - "How do I install the libraries that are referenced by Xilinx Application Note 411?" (Xilinx Answer 12823) - "What Xilinx product families are supported?"