Altera Corporation

David Ian M Milton

Gordon Raymond Chiu

Benjamin Gamsa

Salem Derisavi

Alexander Grbic

Vaughn Betz

David Neto

A method for designing a system on a target device includes identifying a timing exception for a portion of a signal path. An area on the target device that includes components affected by the timing exception. Register retiming is performed where pipeline registers are added at boundaries of the area.

Method and apparatus for performing register retiming in the presence of false path timing analysis exceptions

In one aspect, a technique for performing signal activity extraction in an integrated circuit an integrated circuit is described. The integrated circuit includes multiple nodes. The technique includes compiling a design of the integrated circuit, estimating signal activities at the nodes, determining a node of interest from the nodes, and connecting a signal activity circuit to the node of interest. The determination of the node of interest and the connection of the signal activity circuit to the node of interest first compared to the remaining nodes of the integrated circuit improves efficiency in determining nodes of the integrated circuit at which signals can be analyzed first. Such signal activity extraction may involve power analysis and power optimization.

Methods and systems for performing signal activity extraction

Techniques for analyzing and optimizing a design on an integrated circuit (IC) are provided. The techniques include an interface that aids interactive optimization. A visual indicator is generated based on the power usage value of each of the logic blocks in the design. The visual indicator can be overlaid on top of a floorplan layout of the IC to highlight the parts of the design that may be further optimized. The visual indicator can be updated in real time to highlight the optimizations that have been achieved by the changes made to the design. The real time update of the visual indicator may allow multiple changes to be made to the design before the design is recompiled with a design program.

Interactive design optimization techniques and interface

Methods and apparatus for designing and producing programmable logic devices are provided. A logic design system may be used to analyze various implementations of a desired logic design for a programmable logic device integrated circuit. The logic design system may be used to produce configuration data for the programmable logic device in accordance with an implementation that minimizes power consumption by the programmable logic device. The programmable logic device contains logic blocks that are used to implement the desired logic design and logic blocks that are unused. Dynamic power consumption can be minimized by identifying which configuration data settings reduce the amount of signal toggling in the unused logic blocks and routing, and by minimizing the capacitance of resources that do toggle. Clock tree power consumption can be reduced by evaluating multiple potential logic design implementations using a strictly concave cost function.

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Brooklin, Canada

David Ian M Milton