Synopsys, Inc.

Ludovic Marc Larzul

Alexander Rabinovitch

Frederic Maxime Emirian

Sebastien Delerse

Embodiments relate to the emulation of circuits, and tracking states of signals in an emulated circuit for performing power analysis. A host system incorporates power analysis logic into a design under test (DUT). An emulator emulates the DUT along with the incorporated power analysis logic. Based on the power analysis logic, during a power analysis clock cycle, the emulator selects a signal from a plurality of signals of the DUT. The emulator determines whether a state event is detected for the selected signal. If the state event is detected, a state count is updated for the selected signal that indicates a number of state events detected for the selected signal during emulation of the DUT. If the state count reaches a threshold number based on the update, the emulator transmits a count update signal to the host system indicating that the state count reached the threshold number.

Efficient power analysis

An emulator emulating a DUT emulates a clock generator for generating clock signals of the DUT with jitter. As part of generating clock signals, the emulator generates a jitter clock value for each clock signal. To generate a jitter clock value for a clock signal, the emulator identifies a clock parameter stored for the clock signal and sums the clock parameter with a jitter value randomly selected from the jitter range of the clock signal. When a system fast clock cycle starts, the emulator determines the lowest value from the generated jitter clock values. The emulator outputs an edge on clock signal having the lowest jitter clock value. The emulator generates a new jitter clock value for each clock signal and the process repeats during the next system fast clock cycle.

Clock jitter emulation

When a communication unit of an FPGA receives emulated signals of a design under test that are to be transmitted to another FPGA, the communication unit analyzes each signal to determine whether a signal event has occurred for the signal. The communication unit transmits to the other DUT FPGA a packet indicating for which signals a signal event has occurred. Subsequently, the communication unit transmits a packet for each signal for which an event has occurred.

Efficient emulation of circuits

An emulation environment includes a host system and an emulator. The host system configures the emulator to load a design under test (DUT) and the emulator emulates the DUT. The emulator includes one or more design field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that emulate the DUT. In addition, the emulator includes at least one system FPGA with a logic analyzer and multiple virtual FPGA. The virtual FPGAs emulate sections of the DUT. By the virtual FPGAs emulating sections of the DUT, the logic analyzer is able to obtain for performing logic analysis certain signals from the virtual FPGAs, rather than from the design FPGAs.

Efficient emulation and logic analysis

For a design under test (DUT) that is to be emulated, a host system partitions the DUT into multiple partitions and maps each partition to an FPGA of an emulator which will emulate the partition. The host system stores information describing to which FPGAs each component of the DUT has been mapped. Additionally, mapped to each FPGA is trace and injection logic that traces signals exchanged by the FPGA with other FPGAs during emulation of the DUT. After the emulation of the DUT is complete, if a user wishes to debug a component of the DUT, the FPGAs that are configured to emulate the component are identified. For each identified FPGA, the trace and injection logic injects previously traced signals into the logic of the FPGA in order to reemulate the component. The host system generates waveforms for the user that include signals traced during the reemulation of the component.

Isolated debugging in an FPGA based emulation environment

Embodiments relate an emulation environment that places debugging logic in a manner that connections between the debugging logic and logic components outputs can be efficiently routed. In one embodiment, the host system places the debugging logic after placing the logic components of the DUT, but before routing the logic components. In another embodiment, the host system places debugging logic after placing and routing logic components of the DUT. In another embodiment, for one or more emulator FPGAs, the host system places debugging logic units of the debugging logic evenly across the FPGA before placing logic components of the DUT.

Placing and routing debugging logic

Embodiments relate to the emulation of circuits, and representation of unknown states of signals. A disclosed system (and method and computer program product) includes an emulation environment to convert a digital signal of a DUT in a form capable of representing an unknown state. In addition, the disclosed system converts digital logic circuits such as Boolean logic, flip flops, latches, and memory circuits to be operable with signals having unknown states. Thus, an unknown state of a signal is indicated and propagated through digital logic circuits represented in a disclosed semantic to enable prompt detection of improper operation of the DUT, for example, due to power shut down or inadequate initialization.

X-propagation in emulation using efficient memory

Multiple computer systems each include at least one EDA tool that performs certain EDA functions. Each computer system also includes source code of a design with the names of source code elements and an encoding module that generates unique identifiers for the source code elements according to a specific encoding algorithm. The encoding module identifies each source code element included in the source code. For each source code element, the encoding module generates a unique identifier by applying the encoding algorithm to the name of the element. When electronic design information is going to be transmitted to another computer system and the electronic design information includes source code elements, the encoding module encodes the information by replacing each source code element with the unique identifier generated for the element.

Deterministic identifiers for source code elements

An emulation environment includes a host system and an emulator. The host system configures the emulator to emulate a design under test (DUT) and the emulator emulates the DUT accordingly. During emulation, the emulator traces limited signals of the DUT and stores values of the traced signals. When values of certain signals of the DUT are needed for analysis or verification of the DUT but the signals were not traced by the emulator, the host system simulates one or more sections of the DUT to obtain values of the signals. Signals traced by the emulator are used as inputs to simulate the one or more sections.

Efficient waveform generation for emulation

A host system receives a description of a design under test (DUT) that includes multiple IP units and is to be emulated by an emulator. The host system compiles the description of the DUT, which includes synthesizing the description, partitioning the DUT, and mapping the partitions to FPGAs included in the emulator that will emulate the DUT. Each IP unit is part of a single partition or partitioned into multiple partitions and mapped to a different set of FPGAs. The host system identifies connections in the DUT between IP units. The host system designates one or more FPGAs of the emulator that have not been allocated to emulate IP units as interface FPGAs. The host system determines a route for each of the identified connections through one of the interface FPGAs. The connections are routed so that there are no direct connections between the sets of FPGAs of two IP units.

Growing community of inventors

Folsom, CA, United States of America

Ludovic Marc Larzul