Logic Synthesis And Soc Prototyping

This book describes RTL design, synthesis, and timing closure strategies for SOC blocks. It covers high-level RTL design scenarios and challenges for SOC design. The book gives practical information on the issues in SOC and ASIC prototyping using modern high-density FPGAs. The book covers SOC performance improvement techniques, testing, and system-level verification. The book also describes the modern Xilinx FPGA architecture and their use in SOC prototyping. The book covers the Synopsys DC, PT commands, and use of them to constraint and to optimize SOC design. The contents of this book will be of use to students, professionals, and hobbyists alike.

This book describes RTL design using Verilog, synthesis and timing closure for System On Chip (SOC) design blocks. It covers the complex RTL design scenarios and challenges for SOC designs and provides practical information on performance improvements in SOC, as well as Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) designs. Prototyping using modern high density Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) is discussed in this book with the practical examples and case studies. The book discusses SOC design, performance improvement techniques, testing and system level verification, while also describing the modern Intel FPGA/XILINX FPGA architectures and their use in SOC prototyping. Further, the book covers the Synopsys Design Compiler (DC) and Prime Time (PT) commands, and how they can be used to optimize complex ASIC/SOC designs. The contents of this book will be useful to students and professionals alike.

This book collects the best practices FPGA-based Prototyping of SoC and ASIC devices into one place for the first time, drawing upon not only the authors' own knowledge but also from leading practitioners worldwide in order to present a snapshot of best practices today and possibilities for the future. The book is organized into chapters which appear in the same order as the tasks and decisions which are performed during an FPGA-based prototyping project. We start by analyzing the challenges and benefits of FPGA-based Prototyping and how they compare to other prototyping methods. We present the current state of the available FPGA technology and tools and how to get started on a project. The FPMM also compares between home-made and outsourced FPGA platforms and how to analyze which will best meet the needs of a given project. The central chapters deal with implementing an SoC design in FPGA technology including clocking, conversion of memory, partitioning, multiplexing and handling IP amongst many other subjects. The important subject of bringing up the design on the FPGA boards is covered next, including the introduction of the real design into the board, running embedded software upon it in and debugging and iterating in a lab environment. Finally we explore how the FPGA-based Prototype can be linked into other verification methodologies, including RTL simulation and virtual models in SystemC. Along the way, the reader will discover that an adoption of FPGA-based Prototyping from the beginning of a project, and an approach we call Design-for-Prototyping, will greatly increase the success of the prototype and the whole SoC project, especially the embedded software portion. Design-for-Prototyping is introduced and explained and promoted as a manifesto for better SoC design. Readers can approach the subjects from a number of directions. Some will be experienced with many of the tasks involved in FPGA-based Prototyping but are looking for new insights and ideas; others will be relatively new to the subject but experienced in other verification methodologies; still others may be project leaders who need to understand if and how the benefits of FPGA-based prototyping apply to their next SoC project. We have tried to make each subject chapter relatively standalone, or where necessary, make numerous forward and backward references between subjects, and provide recaps of certain key subjects. We hope you like the book and we look forward to seeing you on the FPMM on-line community soon (go to www.synopsys.com/fpmm).

A hands-on introduction to FPGA prototyping and SoC design This is the successor edition of the popular FPGA Prototyping by Verilog Examples text. It follows the same “learning-by-doing” approach to teach the fundamentals and practices of HDL synthesis and FPGA prototyping. The new edition uses a coherent series of examples to demonstrate the process to develop sophisticated digital circuits and IP (intellectual property) cores, integrate them into an SoC (system on a chip) framework, realize the system on an FPGA prototyping board, and verify the hardware and software operation. The examples start with simple gate-level circuits, progress gradually through the RT (register transfer) level modules, and lead to a functional embedded system with custom I/O peripherals and hardware accelerators. Although it is an introductory text, the examples are developed in a rigorous manner, and the derivations follow the strict design guidelines and coding practices used for large, complex digital systems. The book is completely updated and uses the SystemVerilog language, which “absorbs” the Verilog language. It presents the hardware design in the SoC context and introduces the hardware-software co-design concept. Instead of treating examples as isolated entities, the book integrates them into a single coherent SoC platform that allows readers to explore both hardware and software “programmability” and develop complex and interesting embedded system projects. The new edition: Adds four general-purpose IP cores, which are multi-channel PWM (pulse width modulation) controller, I2C controller, SPI controller, and XADC (Xilinx analog-to-digital converter) controller. Introduces a music synthesizer constructed with a DDFS (direct digital frequency synthesis) module and an ADSR (attack-decay-sustain-release) envelope generator. Expands the original video controller into a complete stream based video subsystem that incorporates a video synchronization circuit, a test-pattern generator, an OSD (on-screen display) controller, a sprite generator, and a frame buffer. Provides a detailed discussion on blocking and nonblocking statements and coding styles. Describes basic concepts of software-hardware co-design with Xilinx MicroBlaze MCS soft-core processor. Provides an overview of bus interconnect and interface circuit. Presents basic embedded system software development. Suggests additional modules and peripherals for interesting and challenging projects. FPGA Prototyping by SystemVerilog Examples makes a natural companion text for introductory and advanced digital design courses and embedded system courses. It also serves as an ideal self-teaching guide for practicing engineers who wish to learn more about this emerging area of interest.

A hands-on introduction to FPGA prototyping and SoC design This Second Edition of the popular book follows the same “learning-by-doing” approach to teach the fundamentals and practices of VHDL synthesis and FPGA prototyping. It uses a coherent series of examples to demonstrate the process to develop sophisticated digital circuits and IP (intellectual property) cores, integrate them into an SoC (system on a chip) framework, realize the system on an FPGA prototyping board, and verify the hardware and software operation. The examples start with simple gate-level circuits, progress gradually through the RT (register transfer) level modules, and lead to a functional embedded system with custom I/O peripherals and hardware accelerators. Although it is an introductory text, the examples are developed in a rigorous manner, and the derivations follow strict design guidelines and coding practices used for large, complex digital systems. The new edition is completely updated. It presents the hardware design in the SoC context and introduces the hardware-software co-design concept. Instead of treating examples as isolated entities, the book integrates them into a single coherent SoC platform that allows readers to explore both hardware and software “programmability” and develop complex and interesting embedded system projects. The revised edition: Adds four general-purpose IP cores, which are multi-channel PWM (pulse width modulation) controller, I2C controller, SPI controller, and XADC (Xilinx analog-to-digital converter) controller. Introduces a music synthesizer constructed with a DDFS (direct digital frequency synthesis) module and an ADSR (attack-decay-sustain-release) envelop generator. Expands the original video controller into a complete stream-based video subsystem that incorporates a video synchronization circuit, a test pattern generator, an OSD (on-screen display) controller, a sprite generator, and a frame buffer. Introduces basic concepts of software-hardware co-design with Xilinx MicroBlaze MCS soft-core processor. Provides an overview of bus interconnect and interface circuit. Introduces basic embedded system software development. Suggests additional modules and peripherals for interesting and challenging projects. The FPGA Prototyping by VHDL Examples, Second Edition makes a natural companion text for introductory and advanced digital design courses and embedded system course. It also serves as an ideal self-teaching guide for practicing engineers who wish to learn more about this emerging area of interest.

The first half of "PROTOTYPICAL" is a concise history of FPGA-based prototyping. We go back to the beginning, briefly introducing the debut of the Altera EP300 in 1984 and the Xilinx XC2064 in 1985. We then discuss the tipping point for what would become FPGA-based prototyping: the introduction of the Quickturn Systems RPM in May 1988. Strictly speaking, the RPM was an FPGA-based hardware emulator, but it set the stage for a radical change in chip development methodology. Intel took the Quickturn technology and put the P5 microarchitecture through its paces on a 14-machine cluster, running a killer demo in 1991 and ultimately releasing the Pentium microprocessor in 1993. From there, while the large EDA firms scuffled over bigger and bigger hardware emulation capability, several academic teams started deploying FPGAs for reconfigurable computing and rapid prototyping. These teams were looking for lower cost ways to prove out algorithms and chip designs. It was during this period issues of FPGA interconnect and synthesis partitioning were uncovered and addressed - and just in time, as ARM7TDMI synthesizable cores appeared in 1997. We then launch into chapters with brief timelines of three of the major firms in FPGA-based prototyping: S2C, Synopsys, and Cadence. We close the first half with a look at where FPGA-based prototyping is headed, including how it can help application segments such as automotive, wearables, and the IoT - three segments we believe will see an increasing number of design starts as new players seek to optimize and differentiate their software through chip design. The second half of "PROTOTYPICAL" is an all-new Field Guide titled "Implementing an FPGA Prototyping Methodology" authored by the teams at S2C. It looks at when design teams need an FPGA-based prototyping solution, how to choose one, and how to be sure the platform is scalable including a look at the latest cloud-based implementations. It then dives into the methodology: setting up a prototype, partitioning, interconnect, debugging, and exercising a design. It's a practical view of the questions teams have and the issues they run into, and how to solve them.

This book describes simple to complex ASIC design practical scenarios using Verilog. It builds a story from the basic fundamentals of ASIC designs to advanced RTL design concepts using Verilog. Looking at current trends of miniaturization, the contents provide practical information on the issues in ASIC design and synthesis using Synopsys DC and their solution. The book explains how to write efficient RTL using Verilog and how to improve design performance. It also covers architecture design strategies, multiple clock domain designs, low-power design techniques, DFT, pre-layout STA and the overall ASIC design flow with case studies. The contents of this book will be useful to practicing hardware engineers, students, and hobbyists looking to learn about ASIC design and synthesis.

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