The function evaluation module (FEM)

The FEM module performs the analysis of the circuit to be optimized, and in particular it evaluates all the objective functions needed by the OAM: the delays, power consumptions and area occupancy.
In order to perform this evaluation it invokes the timing analyzer or simulator chosen at run-time. At the time of writing two analyzer are supported: HSPICE and FAST (chapter 3, page ).
Hereinafter the word ``simulator'' will be used, although some module included in FEM are not real simulator, but more appropriately ``delay-power analyzer'', since they do not perform a real simulation of the circuit (such as FAST).