Up-Bounded-Delay Race Models

Abstract

In this chapter we describe a formal model for the analysis of the behavior of asynchronous circuits modeled by networks in which the delays are inertial and have only upper bounds. The analysis is limited to a single transition: Suppose the network is in a given state and the input is kept constant. We would like to know what is the “outcome” of the transition, i.e., what are the possible states of the network a “long” time after the input change, i.e., after the “transients have died down.” The analysis of the circuit behavior in response to a sequence of input changes can then be carried out as a series of such transition analyses. We postpone the discussion of the response to an input sequence until Chapters 11–13.