What is gate level simulation?

Gate-level simulation is a type of digital circuit simulation performed after the logic synthesis stage in the integrated circuit (IC) design flow. It simulates the behavior of a circuit based on its gate-level netlist, which represents the circuit as an interconnection of logic gates (e.g., AND, OR, NOT, XOR) and flip-flops. It's used to verify the design's functionality, timing, and power consumption before physical implementation. This simulation is more accurate than higher-level simulations (e.g., RTL simulation) because it incorporates detailed timing information associated with each gate. It is often used to verify critical paths and identify potential timing violations. Common uses include functional verification, timing verification, and power analysis. Gate-level simulation can be computationally intensive, especially for large and complex designs.