A validation fault model for timing-induced functional errors

The violation of timing constraints on signals within a complex system can create timing-induced functional errors which alter the value of output signals. These errors are not detected by traditional functional validation approaches because functional validation does not consider signal timing. Timing-induced functional errors are also not detected by traditional timing analysis approaches because the errors may affect output data values without affecting output signal timing. A timing fault model, the Mis-Timed Event (MTE) fault model, is proposed to model timing-induced functional errors. The MTE fault model formulates timing errors in terms of their effects on the lifespans of the signal values associated with the fault. We use several examples to evaluate the MTE fault model. MTE fault coverage results shows that it efficiently captures an important class of errors which are not targeted by other metrics.