arXiv:2608.18482cs.ARcs.AI2026-08中稿 · MLCAD 2026

用形式化方法生成覆盖全路径的硬件断言,提升验证完备性。

Coverage-Driven RTL Assertion Generation with Formal Exploration and Neuro-Symbolic Refinement

论文配图:Coverage-Driven RTL Assertion Generation with Formal Exploration and Neuro-Symbolic Refinement
图 1 · 摘自论文原文
  • 结合形式验证与符号合成,自动生成高覆盖率断言
  • 相比传统方法,断言数量增2倍,变异覆盖率提升2倍
  • 适合需要高可信度验证的数字电路设计人员

硬件功能验证依赖高质量断言来发现设计缺陷并建立对寄存器传输级(RTL)设计的信心。然而现有断言挖掘方法仍难以生成完整可靠的断言集:随机或有限轨迹无法覆盖难达行为,一次性生成缺乏对未验证区域的反馈,导致关键设计行为可能仍被遗漏。本文提出NeuroAssertion,一个覆盖驱动的断言生成框架,整合形式化轨迹生成、语法引导的合成(SyGuS)及类智能体的迭代优化。该框架首先将难以达到的控制流条件转化为形式可达性目标,利用模型检测生成行为多样化的测试轨迹,并基于这些轨迹通过SyGuS挖掘初始断言。随后在验证反馈下进行针对性的类智能体优化:首个大语言模型(LLM)为未覆盖区域提出候选断言;若候选不满足形式检查,第二个LLM生成修复语法规则,指导约束下的符号合成完成神经符号修复。实验表明,该框架可生成约2倍于传统方法的断言,且变异覆盖率提升约2倍。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Hardware functional verification relies on high-quality assertions to expose design bugs and establish confidence in Register Transfer Level (RTL) designs. Yet existing assertion mining methods still struggle to produce complete and reliable assertion sets: random or limited traces fail to cover hard-to-reach behaviors, and one-shot generation provides little feedback about what remains unverified or how the assertion set should be improved. As a result, critical design behaviors can remain uncovered even when many assertions are generated. We present NeuroAssertion, a coverage-driven assertion generation framework that combines formal trace generation, syntax-guided synthesis (SyGuS), and an agent-inspired refinement process within a unified framework. Our framework first converts hard-to-reach control-flow conditions into formal reachability objectives, uses model checking to generate behaviorally diverse traces, and mines initial assertions from these traces with SyGuS. It then performs targeted agent-inspired refinement under verification feedback: one LLM first proposes candidate assertions for uncovered regions, and if a candidate fails formal checking, a second LLM generates a repair grammar that guides constrained symbolic synthesis in a neuro-symbolic repair procedure. Experimental results show that this framework delivers around 2X more assertions and about 2X higher mutation coverage than traditional assertion mining methods.

硬件验证断言生成形式化方法LLM应用

Thank you to arXiv for use of its open access interoperability. PaperDance 不是 arXiv 官方产品;中文卡片由大模型生成,请以原文为准。