Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guide: Timing Analyzer

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ID 683068
Date 2/21/2024
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Timing Analysis Introduction 2. Using the Intel® Quartus® Prime Timing Analyzer A. Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guides
1. Timing Analysis Introduction x
1.1. Timing Analysis Basic Concepts 1.2. Document Revision History
1.1. Timing Analysis Basic Concepts x
1.1.1. Timing Path and Clock Analysis 1.1.2. Clock Setup Analysis 1.1.3. Clock Hold Analysis 1.1.4. Recovery and Removal Analysis 1.1.5. Multicycle Path Analysis 1.1.6. Metastability Analysis 1.1.7. Timing Pessimism 1.1.8. Clock-As-Data Analysis 1.1.9. Multicorner Analysis
1.1.1. Timing Path and Clock Analysis x
1.1.1.1. The Timing Netlist 1.1.1.2. Timing Paths 1.1.1.3. Data and Clock Arrival Times 1.1.1.4. Launch and Latch Edges
1.1.5. Multicycle Path Analysis x
1.1.5.1. Multicycle Clock Hold 1.1.5.2. Multicycle Clock Setup
2. Using the Intel® Quartus® Prime Timing Analyzer x
2.1. Enhanced Timing Analysis for Intel® Arria® 10 Devices 2.2. Basic Timing Analysis Flow 2.3. Using Timing Constraints 2.4. Timing Analyzer Tcl Commands 2.5. Timing Analysis of Imported Compilation Results 2.6. Using the Intel® Quartus® Prime Timing Analyzer Document Revision History
2.2. Basic Timing Analysis Flow x
2.2.1. Step 1: Open a Project and Run the Fitter 2.2.2. Step 2: Specify Timing Constraints 2.2.3. Step 3: Specify General Timing Analyzer Settings 2.2.4. Step 4: Run Timing Analysis 2.2.5. Step 5: Analyze Timing Analysis Results
2.2.5. Step 5: Analyze Timing Analysis Results x
2.2.5.1. Timing Report Commands 2.2.5.2. Set Operating Conditions 2.2.5.3. Fmax Summary Report 2.2.5.4. Report Timing Command 2.2.5.5. Correlating Constraints to the Timing Report 2.2.5.6. Locating Timing Paths in Other Tools
2.3. Using Timing Constraints x
2.3.1. Recommended Initial SDC Constraints 2.3.2. SDC File Precedence 2.3.3. Iterative Constraint Modification 2.3.4. Creating Clocks and Clock Constraints 2.3.5. Creating I/O Constraints 2.3.6. Creating Delay and Skew Constraints 2.3.7. Creating Timing Exceptions 2.3.8. Example Circuit and SDC File
2.3.1. Recommended Initial SDC Constraints x
2.3.1.1. Create Clock (create_clock) 2.3.1.2. Derive PLL Clocks (derive_pll_clocks) 2.3.1.3. Derive Clock Uncertainty (derive_clock_uncertainty) 2.3.1.4. Set Clock Groups (set_clock_groups)
2.3.4. Creating Clocks and Clock Constraints x
2.3.4.1. Creating Base Clocks 2.3.4.2. Creating Virtual Clocks 2.3.4.3. Creating Generated Clocks (create_generated_clock) 2.3.4.4. Deriving PLL Clocks 2.3.4.5. Creating Clock Groups (set_clock_groups) 2.3.4.6. Accounting for Clock Effect Characteristics
2.3.4.1. Creating Base Clocks x
2.3.4.1.1. Automatic Clock Detection and Constraint Creation
2.3.4.2. Creating Virtual Clocks x
2.3.4.2.1. Specifying I/O Interface Uncertainty 2.3.4.2.2. I/O Interface Clock Uncertainty Example
2.3.4.3. Creating Generated Clocks (create_generated_clock) x
2.3.4.3.1. Clock Divider Example (-divide_by) 2.3.4.3.2. Clock Multiplexor Example
2.3.4.5. Creating Clock Groups (set_clock_groups) x
2.3.4.5.1. Exclusive Clock Groups (-exclusive) 2.3.4.5.2. Asynchronous Clock Groups (-asynchronous) 2.3.4.5.3. set_clock_groups Constraint Tips
2.3.4.6. Accounting for Clock Effect Characteristics x
2.3.4.6.1. Set Clock Latency (set_clock_latency) 2.3.4.6.2. Clock Uncertainty
2.3.5. Creating I/O Constraints x
2.3.5.1. Input Constraints (set_input_delay) 2.3.5.2. Output Constraints (set_output_delay)
2.3.6. Creating Delay and Skew Constraints x
2.3.6.1. Advanced I/O Timing and Board Trace Model Delay 2.3.6.2. Maximum Skew (set_max_skew) 2.3.6.3. Net Delay (set_net_delay) 2.3.6.4. Create Timing Netlist
2.3.7. Creating Timing Exceptions x
2.3.7.1. Timing Constraint Precedence 2.3.7.2. False Paths (set_false_path) 2.3.7.3. Minimum and Maximum Delays 2.3.7.4. Multicycle Paths 2.3.7.5. Multicycle Exception Examples 2.3.7.6. Delay Annotation
2.3.7.4. Multicycle Paths x
2.3.7.4.1. Common Multicycle Applications 2.3.7.4.2. Relaxing Setup with Multicycle (set_multicyle_path) 2.3.7.4.3. Accounting for a Phase Shift (-phase)
2.3.7.5. Multicycle Exception Examples x
2.3.7.5.1. Default Multicycle Analysis 2.3.7.5.2. End Multicycle Setup = 2 and End Multicycle Hold = 0 2.3.7.5.3. End Multicycle Setup = 2 and End Multicycle Hold = 1 2.3.7.5.4. Same Frequency Clocks with Destination Clock Offset 2.3.7.5.5. Destination Clock Frequency is a Multiple of the Source Clock Frequency 2.3.7.5.6. Destination Clock Frequency is a Multiple of the Source Clock Frequency with an Offset 2.3.7.5.7. Source Clock Frequency is a Multiple of the Destination Clock Frequency 2.3.7.5.8. Source Clock Frequency is a Multiple of the Destination Clock Frequency with an Offset
2.4. Timing Analyzer Tcl Commands x
2.4.1. The quartus_sta Executable 2.4.2. Collection Commands 2.4.3. Identifying the Intel® Quartus® Prime Software Executable from the SDC File
2.4.2. Collection Commands x
2.4.2.1. Wildcard Characters 2.4.2.2. Adding and Removing Collection Items 2.4.2.3. Query of Collections 2.4.2.4. Using the get_pins Command
1. Timing Analysis Introduction
2. Using the Intel® Quartus® Prime Timing Analyzer
A. Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guides

2.3.7.3. Minimum and Maximum Delays

To specify an absolute minimum or maximum delay for a path, use the Set Minimum Delay (set_min_delay) or the Set Maximum Delay (set_max_delay) constraints, respectively. Specifying minimum and maximum delay directly overwrites existing setup and hold relationships with the minimum and maximum values.

Use the set_max_delay and set_min_delay constraints for asynchronous signals that do not have a specific clock relationship in your design, but require a minimum and maximum path delay. You can create minimum and maximum delay exceptions for port-to-port paths through the device without a register stage in the path. If you use minimum and maximum delay exceptions to constrain the path delay, specify both the minimum and maximum delay of the path; do not constrain only the minimum or maximum value.

If the source or destination node is clocked, the Timing Analyzer takes into account the clock paths, allowing more or less delay on the data path. If the source or destination node has an input or output delay, the minimum or maximum delay check also includes that delay.

If you specify a minimum or maximum delay between timing nodes, the delay applies only to the path between the two nodes. If you specify a minimum or maximum delay for a clock, the delay applies to all paths where the clock clocks the source node or destination node.

You can create a minimum or maximum delay exception for an output port that does not have an output delay constraint. You cannot report timing for the paths that relate to the output port; however, the Timing Analyzer reports any slack for the path in the setup summary and hold summary reports. Because there is no clock that relates to the output port, the Timing Analyzer reports no clock for timing paths of the output port.

Note: To report timing with clock filters for output paths with minimum and maximum delay constraints, you can set the output delay for the output port with a value of zero. You can use an existing clock from the design or a virtual clock as the clock reference.
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