从物理器件到RTL模型：硬件工程中的抽象与验证

中文摘要 AI 辅助

本文介绍了硬件工程模型的基本原理，并论证了抽象是它们的决定性特征。由于抽象必然省略细节并限制工程师所能构建的内容，模型在特定方面天生不完整——或者正如George Box所著名地指出的，“所有模型都是错误的，但有些是有用的”。同时，抽象对于简化至关重要，而简化是管理复杂性的关键。更抽象的模型也往往模拟得更快，因为需要考虑的细节更少。本文随后考察了数字设计中的一系列抽象方法——有时被称为设计纪律——包括集总模型、值离散模型和时间离散模型。连同定义抽象有效性的约束和设计指南，这些抽象方法确立了设计纪律。本文进一步将这些抽象形式与预聚类的设计元素（如晶体管、门、寄存器和传递函数）联系起来。这些预聚类的元素定义了抽象级别，如门级，并被视为提高设计生产力的关键推动因素。

英文摘要

This paper introduces the foundational principles underlying hardware engineering models and argues that abstraction is their defining characteristic. Because abstraction necessarily omits detail and constrains what engineers can build, models are inherently incomplete in specific respects - or, as George Box famously observed, "All models are wrong, but some are useful". At the same time, abstraction is essential for simplification, which is key to managing complexity. More abstract models also tend to simulate faster because fewer details must be considered. This paper subsequently examines a range of abstraction methods in digital design - sometimes referred to as design disciplines - including lumped models, value-discrete models, and time-discrete models. Together with constraints that define the validity of the abstraction and design guidelines, these abstraction methods establish design disciplines. This paper further relates these forms of abstraction to pre-clustered design elements such as transistors, gates, registers, and transfer functions. These pre-clustered elements define abstraction levels, such as the gate level, and are presented as a key enabler of increased design productivity.

发表机构

• Infineon Technologies（英飞凌科技）
• TU Munich（慕尼黑工业大学）

机构由 AI 辅助整理，请以论文原文为准。