Designing FPGAs Using the Vivado Design Suite 4

Course Description

This course tackles the most sophisticated aspects of the Vivado® Design Suite and AMD Xilinx hardware. This course enables you to use the advanced capabilities of the Vivado Design Suite to achieve design closure.

Level

FPGA 4

Training Duration

2 days

Who Should Attend?

Engineers who seek advanced training in using AMD Xilinx tools to improve FPGA performance and utilization while also increasing productivity

Prerequisites

• Designing FPGAs Using the Vivado Design Suite 2 course
• Designing FPGAs Using the Vivado Design Suite 3 course
• At least six months of design experience with AMD Xilinx tools and FPGAs

Skills Gained

After completing this comprehensive training, you will have the necessary skills to:

• Apply appropriate I/O timing constraints and design modifications for source-synchronous and system-synchronous interfaces
• Analyze a timing report to identify how to center the clock in the data eye
• Use Tcl scripting in non-project batch flows to synthesize, implement, and generate custom timing reports
• Utilize floorplanning techniques to improve design performance
• Employ advanced implementation options, such as incremental compile flow, physical optimization techniques, and re-entrant mode as last mile strategies
• Utilize AMD Xilinx security features, bitstream encryption, and authentication using AES for design and IP security
• Identify advanced FPGA configurations, such as daisy chains and gangs, for configuring multiple FPGAs in a design
• Debug a design at the device startup phase to debug issues related to startup events, such as MMCM lock and design coming out of reset

Course Outline

Day 1

• UltraFast Design Methodology Introduction {Lecture}
• Scripting in Vivado Design Suite Non-Project Mode {Lecture, Lab}
• Using Procedures and Lists in Tcl Scripting {Lecture}
• Using regexp in Tcl Scripting {Lecture, Lab}
• Introduction to the AMD Xilinx Tcl Store {Lecture, Demo}
• Debugging and Error Management in Tcl Scripting {Lecture}
• I/O Timing Scenarios {Lecture}
• Source-Synchronous I/O Timing {Lecture, Lab}
• System-Synchronous I/O Timing {Lecture, Demo}
• Timing Constraints Priority {Lecture}
• Case Analysis {Lecture}
• Daisy Chains and Gangs in Configuration {Lecture}
• Managing Remote IP {Lecture, Lab}

Day 2

• Introduction to Floorplanning {Lecture}
• Design Analysis and Floorplanning {Lecture, Lab} 
• Incremental Compile Flow {Lecture, Lab}
• Re-entrant Implementation Mode {Lecture, Lab}
• Physical Optimization {Lecture, Lab}
• Vivado Design Suite ECO Flow {Lecture, Lab}
• Trigger and Debug at Device Startup {Lecture, Demo}
• Scripting for a VLA Design {Lecture, Lab}
• Vivado Design Suite Debug Methodology {Lecture}
• Power Management Techniques {Lecture}
• Bitstream Security {Lecture, Lab}

Topic Descriptions

Day 1

• UltraFast Design Methodology Introduction – Introduces the UltraFast™ methodology guidelines covered in this course.
• Scripting in Vivado Design Suite Non-Project Mode – Write Tcl commands in the non-project batch flow for a design.
• Using Procedures and Lists in Scripting – Employ procedures and lists in Tcl scripting.
• Using regexp in Tcl Scripting – Use regular expressions to find a pattern in a text file while scripting an action in the Vivado Design Suite.
• Introduction to the AMD Xilinx Tcl Store – Introduces the AMD Xilinx Tcl Store.
• Debugging and Error Management in Tcl Scripting – Understand how to debug errors in a Tcl script.
• I/O Timing Scenarios – Overview of various I/O timing scenarios, such as source and system synchronous, direct/MMCM capture, and edge/center aligned data.
• Source-Synchronous I/O Timing – Apply I/O delay constraints and perform static timing analysis for a source-synchronous, double data rate (DDR) interface.
• System-Synchronous I/O Timing – Apply I/O delay constraints and perform static timing analysis for a system-synchronous input interface.
• Timing Constraints Priority – Identify the priority of timing constraints.
• Case Analysis – Understand how to analyze timing when using multiplexed clocks in a design.
• Daisy Chains and Gangs in Configuration – Introduces advanced configuration schemes for multiple FPGAs.
• Managing Remote IP – Store IP and related files remote to the current working project directory.

Day 2

• Introduction to Floorplanning – Introduction to floorplanning and how to use Pblocks while floorplanning.
• Design Analysis and Floorplanning – Explore the pre- and post-implementation design analysis features of the Vivado IDE.
• Incremental Compile Flow – Utilize the incremental compile flow when making last-minute RTL changes.
• Re-entrant Implementation Mode – Use re-entrant mode on partial routed nets.
• Physical Optimization – Use physical optimization techniques for timing closure.
• Vivado Design Suite ECO Flow – Use ECO flow to make changes to a previously implemented design and apply changes to the original design.
• Trigger and Debug at Device Startup – Debug the events around the device startup.
• Scripting for a VLA Design – Use Tcl scripting for VLA designs for adding probes and making connections to probes.
• Vivado Design Suite Debug Methodology – Employ the debug methodology for debugging a design using the Vivado logic analyzer.
• Power Management Techniques – Identify techniques used for low power design.
• Bitstream Security – Understand the AMD Xilinx bitstream security features such as readback disable, bitstream encryption, and authentication. .