Why should we care about input vectors?

As the size of future (nano-)devices is aggressively scaled deep into the nanometer range, the design and manufacturing of future (nano-)circuits will become extremely complex and inevitably introduce more defects and transient faults. Therefore, accurately calculating the reliability of future designs will become a very important factor for (nano-)circuit designers. This paper investigates the relationship between input vectors and the reliability of the output signal. The paper introduces the critical gate concept and highlights their effects on the circuit's reliability. Simulation results show that the circuit's reliability depends heavily on the status and location of the critical gates.