When the timing constraints of a flip-flop are not met then the flip-flop may go metastable. This lecture will summarize the causes of metastability and techniques for addressing metastability when it cannot be resolved easily.
- 16.4-16.5 from RTL Hardware Design Using VHDL
- What is metastability and why is it a problem
- Understand how a flip-flop can go metastable
- Understand how to use the stabilization time equation for a flip-flop in metastability
- Understand the Rmeta, AF, and MTBF equations for metastability (and be able to apply these equations with a given situation)
- Understand the purpose of a synchronizer and how it can address metastability
- Understand the four different synchronizer types in Slide 40 of the chapter 16 slides
- Be able to analyze the MTBF of various synchronizer designs