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GLS · Topic

Gate-Level Timing Violation Debug — Setup, Hold & Notifiers

Debugging setup, hold, width and recovery violations in gate-level simulation — timing checks, notifiers, and violations that are not real.

A timing-check violation in simulation means the model detected a condition its timing check was written to catch; it does not by itself mean the silicon will fail. Violations during reset, on paths that are false by design, or on clock-domain crossings that STA already waived are routine, and treating every one as a bug wastes days. The skill is triage: establish which violations correspond to paths that STA also signs off on, and investigate those first.

Lessons in this topic(6)

Start hereReading Setup/Hold Violation MessagesGate-Level Simulation Reading Setup/Hold Violation Messages
  1. 2Root-Causing a Setup Violation
  2. 3Root-Causing a Hold Violation
  3. 4Real Violations vs Simulation Artifacts
  4. 5Timing Checks, Notifiers & X-Injection
  5. 6Working Example: A Clock-Gated Block Violation