Abstract: Procedures are disclosed to automate constraint and power mode (PM) setup determination for quiescent power supply current (IDDQ) testing of a semiconductor design. Starting with known constraints and PM setup, if available, an estimation is run to obtain minimum, lower bound (LB), expected, upper bound (UB), and maximum IDDQ estimates for individual cells. The estimates are sorted by range (UB-LB), and by elevation (expected-minimum). A constraint is added to control the power of the cell with the highest range. A constraint or a PM entry is added to reduce elevation of the cell with the highest elevation, based on a predetermined property of the cell. With the adjusted constraints and PM setup, the steps are repeated. Iteration continues until (1) the top cells are not custom cells, memories, or macros, or (2) the contributions of the top cells to the design's range and elevation are below predetermined limits.

Abstract: A method of recovering from a transmission error in a station having first and second input-output ports which are respectively coupled to two other stations in a communication network includes the steps of: receiving on the first port, messages which are separated by idle characters and regenerating same on the second port; detecting the error during the receiving step; and responding to the detection of the error by (a) transmitting silence on both the first and second ports and (b) waiting for the receipt of silence on the ports, prior to passing any further messages through the station.