Quadratic propagation of variance (QPOV) in statistical circuits design

A method of predicting system performance variance utilizing a quadratic approximation to the performance functions, instead of the linear approximation commonly used, is proposed for statistical VLSI design. It is combined with the propagation of moments method of statistical analysis, leading to a method referred to as quadratic propagation of variance (QPOV). Using a specific IC, significant reduction of variance estimation error is reported.