Time Domain Verification of Oscillator Circuit Properties

The application of formal methods to analog and mixed signal circuits requires efficient methods for constructing abstractions of circuit behaviors. This paper concerns the verification of properties of oscillator circuits. Generic monitor automata are proposed to facilitate the application of hybrid system reachability computations to characterize time domain features of oscillatory behavior, such as bounds on the signal amplitude and jitter. The approach is illustrated for a nonlinear tunnel-diode circuit model using PHAVer, a hybrid system analysis tool that provides sound verification results based on linear hybrid automata approximations and infinite precision computations.