Make Logic Synthesis Work For YouSponsored by: CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS

Aug. 23, 2004

A quick take on logic synthesis

Think Global RTL coding style and how you drive today's synthesis tools affect your results. Take advantage of global RTL optimizations by synthesizing big blocks in top-down fashion instead of attempting to optimize separately for speed, area, power, or testability. Try writing your RTL at a high level and trust your synthesis tool to take it from there. Using more abstract coding will enable the tool to take a more global view. For example, when coding a multiplexer, go with a case statement rather than instantiating a multiplexer gate or writing Boolean logic expressions. Heed Warnings The first step in the synthesis process, elaboration, tells the tool to read in the HDL code and create a control-flow/data-flow representation of the design. Elaboration creates a good intermediate stopping point before optimization to have the tool report all error and warning messages. Take advantage of this to check that there are no surprises.

Next, do a sanity check on your timing constraints (report timing-lint). If there are intentional combinational loops in the design, break them manually. Of course, if any such loops exist unintentionally, you have just found a coding problem.

Take The Middle Road After elaboration and checking for warnings, start with a medium-effort optimization. If that run leaves you way off on timing, then you know your code has a micro-architecture problem. But if this process gets you close, then you know a subsequent high-effort run may finish the job. It's best to avoid running a high-effort optimization until you must, as they can cost a 2× runtime hit compared to a medium-effort run. Also, take advantage of your synthesis tool's early-feedback features. Some synthesis tools can give you early estimates of circuit performance well before even a medium-effort optimization can be completed.

Click here to download the PDF version of this entire article.

About the Author

David Maliniak | MWRF Executive Editor

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.