2014 Synopsys Users Group Conference (SNUG Silicon Valley 2014)

Synchronization and Metastability by Steve Golson

Abstract: The phenomenon of metastability is inherent in clocked digital logic. Many techniques have been presented for minimizing metastability, both for crossing clock domains, and for handling asynchronous inputs. Some of these “best practices” have unexpected weaknesses and must be used carefully, particularly at smaller process nodes. This paper will explore these shortcomings and suggest alternative schemes that are more robust. A PrimeTime methodology for verifying multi-clock designs will be presented.

This won the Best Paper Award. Here are my slides.

I also presented this paper at Boston SNUG in September 2014.

Thanks to the nice folks at Synopsys who recorded my talk in Santa Clara, you can watch the slides while you listen to my talk (sorry about the poor audio):