Low Power Verification · All levels

Coverage Across Multiple Power Domains: Worked Example

Worked Example for Coverage Across Multiple Power Domains.

Worked example

Worked Example for Coverage Across Multiple Power Domains is anchored on Risk-weighted coverage closure for domain-state cross products, inter-domain transition pairs, and wakeup cause by mode combinations.. Convert observations into mechanism-backed and owner-bound actions.

A regression appears in Risk-weighted coverage closure for domain-state cross products, inter-domain transition pairs, and wakeup cause by mode combinations.. Strong closure isolates first failing boundary, proves mechanism, applies one reversible fix, and validates blast radius before release.

Execution lens

diagram
LOW-POWER VERIFICATION FLOW - Coverage Across Multiple Power Domains

power intent and mode definitions
      |
      v
domain controls and transition sequencing
      |
      v
simulation behavior (isolation, retention, corruption)
      |
      v
assertions and coverage evidence
      |
      v
triage, bounded fix, and signoff closure

Decision matrix

diagram
EVIDENCE MATRIX - Coverage Across Multiple Power Domains

+-----------------------------+--------------------------------+--------------------------------+---------------------------+
| Evidence                    | Tells you                      | Does not prove                 | Next action               |
+-----------------------------+--------------------------------+--------------------------------+---------------------------+
| transition timeline traces  | first failing LP phase         | complete root-cause ownership  | correlate with intent map |
| UPF-aware assertion logs    | contract violations by phase   | silicon product impact         | map to scenario severity  |
| corruption/X classification | actionable vs noisy failures   | legal transition completeness  | replay key mode corners   |
| save/restore snapshots      | state integrity movement       | isolation correctness          | pair with crossing checks |
| before-after regressions    | mitigation movement quality    | long-tail stability            | run full matrix           |
+-----------------------------+--------------------------------+--------------------------------+---------------------------+

Low-power verification deep dive

Power-state correctness is a protocol contract: legal transitions, robust sequencing, and safe concurrent event handling.

Concept diagram

diagram
PST CONTROL LOOP

state request -> legality check -> handshake sequencing -> mode entry -> monitored exit

Metric graph

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STATE RISK MIX

illegal transitions     ██████
sequence race bugs      █████
stable mode paths       ████████

Metrics and artifacts to collect

  • PST legality matrix

  • illegal transition histogram

  • entry/exit handshake coverage

  • mode sequencing anomaly log

Mini case study

A sporadic low-power failure closed only after proving a wake-versus-thermal race in PMU transition sequencing.

Debug branches

  • Validate legal state graph first.

  • Stress concurrent control events and asynchronous wakeups.

  • Bind fixes to explicit transition and owner contracts.

Senior review question

Ask: what exact low-power transition boundary failed first, and which artifact proves the closure claim reproducibly?

Key takeaways

  • Tie each LPV claim to a concrete transition boundary and one proving artifact.

  • Prefer minimal reversible fixes with explicit owner and rollback criteria.

Common pitfalls

  • Treating power-aware failures as random before boundary classification.

  • Waiving X-prop failures before proving impact and root cause.

  • Declaring closure without deterministic replay across key modes.

Worked-example reasoning

Start by proving phase and boundary assumptions before tuning checks.

Use one reversible change per hypothesis to preserve causality.