Digital Design Derivation

本研究将逻辑、验证与综合的形式化方法应用于数位设计工程。工作集中在应用符号的系统描述和功能代数的设计推导。总体目标是开发一种用于构建正确硬件实现的综合方法。具体目标是为数字设计建立一个可行的代数框架，澄清其与传统设计方法的关系，探索其对设计自动化的影响，并结合硬件验证的当代形式化。首席研究员将基于他之前对硬件建模和设计辅助自动化中的函数式编程语言的探索进行这项研究。他的方法已经在一个从高级行为描述派生硬件实现的基本转换系统中得到了证明。在本研究期间，该系统将被改进并面向可编程技术（例如PLA和门阵列）。重点将是在设计推导中支持工程专业知识。特别令人感兴趣的是在正交设计分解中描述一致性和逻辑正确性的问题。超大规模集成电路（VLSI）是一个探索如何设计高度复杂集成电路和相关电子系统的新兴领域。研究是必要的，因为超大规模集成电路设备变得越来越复杂，行业竞争越来越激烈。该领域的发展对美国在电子行业的竞争领先地位至关重要。该领域的一个重要研究问题是如何将高级VLSI电路的行为描述自动转换为正确有效的电路实现。这个问题的解决方案将允许VLSI设计工程师专注于设计的行为和功能方面，而不会受到大量低级细节的阻碍。本研究解决了将形式化方法应用于VLSI设计工程的需要，以便将所需的数学严谨性带入该学科。形式化的方法将成为自动化设计过程的基础。首席研究员在这一领域取得了重要的概念进展，并将在他的研究中进一步将其推向实践。

This research will apply formal methods in logic, verification and synthesis to digital design engineering. The work centers on the use of applicative notation for system description and functional algebras for design derivation. The general goal is to develop a comprehensive methodology for constructing correct hardware implementations. Specific objectives are to establish a practicable algebraic framework for digital design, to clarify its relationship to conventional design methods, to explore its implications for design automation, and to incorporate contemporary formalisms for hardware verification. The principal investigator will base this research on his previous exploration of functional programming languages in hardware modeling and design-aids automation. His methodology has been demonstrated in a basic transformation system for deriving hardware implementations from higher-level behavioral descriptions. In the period of this research, the system will be refined and oriented toward a programmable technology (e.g. PLA and gate arrays). The emphasis will be on supporting engineering expertise in design derivation. Of particular interest are the problems of descriptive coherence and logical correctness in the presence of orthogonal design decompositions. VLSI (very large scale integration) is a recent field that explores how to design highly complex integrated circuits and related electronic systems. Research is needed because VLSI devices have become increasingly complex and the industry more competitive. Development of the field is important to the nation's competitive lead in electronics. An important research question in this field is that of automatically translating high-level VLSI circuit behavioral descriptions to correct and efficient circuit implementations. Solutions to this problem will permit VLSI design engineers to concentrate on the behavioral and functional aspects of the design without being encumbered with a mass of low level detail. This research addresses the need to apply formal methods to VLSI design engineering in order to bring needed mathematical rigor into the discipline. The formal methods will then become a basis for automating the design process. The principal investigator has made important conceptual advances in this area and will further develop them toward practice in his research.