用知识图谱提升AI生成硬件验证断言的准确性与可编译性
Knowledge Graphs, the Missing Link in Agentic AI-based Formal Verification

- 构建融合规格、RTL和工具反馈的验证专用知识图谱
- 在7个基准设计上实现78.5%至99.4%的正式覆盖率,语法修复开销低
- 适合硬件验证工程师和AI驱动的FV研究者使用
大语言模型虽能将自然语言规格转化为SystemVerilog断言(SVA),但因规格模糊或缺少微架构细节,生成质量仍受限。现有方法将规格与RTL视为松散文本,导致语义错配和解析失败。本文提出一种基于中间表示(IR)构建的验证中心知识图谱(KG),整合规格、RTL及形式化工具反馈(包括语法诊断、反例和覆盖率报告),关联需求、设计层级、信号、假设与属性,提供可追溯的设计上下文。采用多智能体工作流查询并更新该图谱,驱动三重精炼循环:基于工具诊断的语法修复、基于反例追踪的修正、基于覆盖率的属性增强。在七个基准设计上的评估表明,该方法显著提升规格到RTL的对齐度,生成可编译的SVA且修复开销低,正式覆盖率范围为78.5%至99.4%,但复杂时序与算术推理仍具挑战性。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Recent advances in Large Language Models (LLMs) have enabled workflows that generate SystemVerilog Assertions (SVAs) from natural-language specifications, with the potential to accelerate Formal Verification (FV). However, high-quality assertion synthesis remains challenging because specifications are often ambiguous or incomplete and critical micro-architectural details reside in the Register Transfer Level (RTL). Many existing approaches treat the specification and RTL as loosely structured text, which weakens specification-to-RTL grounding and leads to semantic mismatches and frequent syntax failures during formal parsing and elaboration. This work addresses these limitations with a verification-centric Knowledge Graph (KG) constructed from structured Intermediate Representations (IRs) extracted from the specification, RTL, and formal-tool feedback, including syntax diagnostics, Counterexamples (CEXs), and coverage reports. The KG links requirements, design hierarchy, signals, assumptions, and properties to provide traceable, design-grounded context for generation. A multi-agent workflow queries and updates this KG to generate SVAs and to drive three refinement loops: syntax repair guided by tool diagnostics, CEX-guided correction using trace links, and coverage-directed property augmentation. Evaluation across seven benchmark designs indicates that KG-based context retrieval improves specification-to-RTL grounding and consistently produces compilable SVAs with low syntax-repair overhead. The approach achieves formal coverage ranging from 78.5% to 99.4%, though convergence exhibits design dependence with complex temporal and arithmetic reasoning remaining challenging for current LLM capabilities.
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