MAPS: multi-algorithm parallel circuit simulation

— The emergence of multi-core and many-core processors has introduced new opportunities and challenges to EDA research and development. While the availability of increasing parallel computing power holds new promise to address many computing challenges in CAD, the leverage of hardware parallelism can only be possible with a new generation of parallel CAD applications. In this paper, we propose a novel Multi-Algorithm Parallel circuit Simulation approach (MAPS) and its multi-core implementation to expedite one of the most fundamental CAD applications: transistor-level transient circuit simulation. MAPS starts multiple simulation algorithms in parallel for a given simulation task. By properly synchronizing these algorithms on-the-fly, we exploit the diversity in simulation algorithms to achieve possibly superlinear overall speedup in transient simulation. In addition, our unique multi-algorithm framework allows unique safe exploration of simulation methods that are conventionally disc...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: ICCAD
• Authors: Xiaoji Ye, Wei Dong, Peng Li, Sani R. Nassif
• Keywords: Hardware, ICCAD 2008, Parallel Circuit Simulation, Parallel Simulation, Transient Circuit Simulation