Extracting vectors from application traces for power integrity analysis

We present an approach to power integrity analysis that is based on traces resulting from application execution. The first phase of the approach identifies a vector that maximally stresses the power grid, while the second phase entails simulation of the selected vector on an accurate grid model. We show, for an AVR32 32-bit microcontroller, that the vector we identify gives rise to a supply voltage drop that is 18% larger than that of the vector obtained in a regular flow, which considers average power dissipation per cycle.