Inaccuracies in power estimation during logic synthesis

Abstract

This paper studies the confidence with which power can be estimated at various levels of design abstraction. We report the results of experiments designed to evaluate and identify the sources of inaccuracies in gate-level power estimation. In particular, we are interested in power estimation during logic synthesis. Factors that may invalidate or diminish the accuracy of power estimates include optimization, technology mapping, transistor sizing, physical design, and choice of input stimuli.