Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guide: Third-party Simulation

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ID 683080
Date 2/05/2024
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
Answers to Top FAQs 1. Intel FPGA Simulation Basics 2. Siemens EDA QuestaSim* Simulator Support 3. Synopsys VCS* and VCS MX Support 4. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support 5. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Support A. Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guides
1. Intel FPGA Simulation Basics x
1.1. Intel FPGA Simulation Essential Elements 1.2. Overview of Simulation Tool Flow 1.3. Simulation Tool Flow 1.4. Supported Simulation Types 1.5. Supported Simulation Flows 1.6. Supported Hardware Description Languages 1.7. Supported Simulators 1.8. Using NativeLink Simulation ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition) 1.9. Intel FPGA Simulation Basics Revision History
1.2. Overview of Simulation Tool Flow x
1.2.1. Compilation Stage 1.2.2. Elaboration Stage 1.2.3. Simulation Stage
1.3. Simulation Tool Flow x
1.3.1. Specifying Logical Libraries 1.3.2. Compiling Files Into Library Directories 1.3.3. The Intel® Quartus® Prime Simulation Library 1.3.4. Understanding Elaboration 1.3.5. Commands To Configure and Run Simulation 1.3.6. Intel FPGA Simulation Generic Workflow
1.3.1. Specifying Logical Libraries x
1.3.1.1. Why Do We Need Logical Library Names?
1.3.2. Compiling Files Into Library Directories x
1.3.2.1. Inputs to Compilation Commands 1.3.2.2. Order of Files for Compilation Commands 1.3.2.3. Compilation Command Line Options 1.3.2.4. Module Definitions in Library Directories
1.3.3. The Intel® Quartus® Prime Simulation Library x
1.3.3.1. The Intel® Quartus® Prime Simulation Library Compiler 1.3.3.2. Running the Simulation Library Compiler in a Terminal 1.3.3.3. Running the Simulation Library Compiler in the GUI 1.3.3.4. Finding Logical Library Names in Simulation Library Compiler Output
1.3.4. Understanding Elaboration x
1.3.4.1. Elaboration Binding Phase 1.3.4.2. Elaboration Checks 1.3.4.3. Elaboration Options
1.8. Using NativeLink Simulation ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition) x
1.8.1. Setting Up NativeLink Simulation ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition) 1.8.2. Running RTL Simulation (NativeLink Flow) 1.8.3. Running Gate-Level Simulation (NativeLink Flow)
2. Siemens EDA QuestaSim* Simulator Support x
2.1. Quick Start Example (QuestaSim* with Verilog) 2.2. QuestaSim* Simulator Guidelines 2.3. QuestaSim* Simulation Setup Script Example 2.4. Sourcing QuestaSim* Simulator Setup Scripts 2.5. Unsupported Features 2.6. Siemens EDA QuestaSim* Simulator Support Revision History
2.2. QuestaSim* Simulator Guidelines x
2.2.1. Passing Parameter Information from Verilog HDL to VHDL 2.2.2. Viewing Simulation Messages 2.2.3. Generating Signal Activity Data for Power Analysis 2.2.4. Viewing Simulation Waveforms
2.2.3. Generating Signal Activity Data for Power Analysis x
2.2.3.1. Generating Standard Delay Output for Power Analysis
3. Synopsys VCS* and VCS MX Support x
3.1. Quick Start Example (VCS with Verilog) 3.2. VCS and VCS MX Guidelines 3.3. VCS Simulation Setup Script Example 3.4. Sourcing Synopsys VCS* MX Simulator Setup Scripts 3.5. Sourcing Synopsys VCS* Simulator Setup Scripts 3.6. Synopsys VCS* and VCS MX Support Revision History
3.2. VCS and VCS MX Guidelines x
3.2.1. Simulating Transport Delays 3.2.2. Disabling Timing Violation on Registers 3.2.3. Generating Power Analysis Files
4. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support x
4.1. Generating Simulator Setup Script Templates 4.2. Sourcing Cadence Xcelium* Simulator Setup Scripts 4.3. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support Revision History
5. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Support x
5.1. Quick Start Example (Active-HDL VHDL) 5.2. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Guidelines 5.3. Using Simulation Setup Scripts 5.4. Sourcing Aldec ActiveHDL* or Riviera Pro* Simulator Setup Scripts 5.5. Aldec Active-HDL* and Riviera-PRO * Support Revision History
5.2. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Guidelines x
5.2.1. Compiling SystemVerilog Files 5.2.2. Disabling Timing Violation on Registers
Answers to Top FAQs
1. Intel FPGA Simulation Basics
2. Siemens EDA QuestaSim* Simulator Support
3. Synopsys VCS* and VCS MX Support
4. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support
5. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Support
A. Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guides

2.2.3.1. Generating Standard Delay Output for Power Analysis

To improve accuracy of power analysis, you can generate a Standard Delay Output (.sdo) file that includes back-annotated delay estimates for QuestaSim* simulation. QuestaSim* simulation can then output a more accurate .vcd for use as power analysis input. You must run Fitter (Finalize) before generating the .sdo.
Using an SDO in Power Analysis
  1. Click Assignments > Settings > EDA Tool Settings > Simulation. In Tool name select QuestaSim* and Verilog for Format for output netlist.
    Figure 7. More EDA Netlist Writer Settings
  2. Click More EDA Netlist Writer Settings. Set Enable SDO Generation for Power Estimation to On. Set Generate Power Estimate Scripts to ALL_NODES.
  3. To run the Fitter, click Processing > Start > Start Fitter (Finalize).
  4. Create a representative testbench (.vt) that exercises the design functions appropriately.
  5. To specify the appropriate hierarchy level for signals in the output .vcd, add the following line to the project .qsf file: 4 
    set_global_assignment -name EDA_TEST_BENCH_DESIGN_INSTANCE_NAME 
     <DUT instance path> -section_id eda_simulation
  6. After Fitter processing is complete, click Processing > Start > Start EDA Netlist Writer. EDA Netlist Writer generates the following files in /<project>/simulation/questa/power/:
    • <project>.vo (contains a reference to the .sdo file by default)
    • <project>_dump_all_vcd_nodes.tcl—specifies nodes to save in .vcd
    • <project>_v.sdo—back-annotated delay estimates
  7. Create a QuestaSim* script (.do) to load the design and testbench, start QuestaSim*, and then source the .do script.
  8. To specify the signals QuestaSim* includes in the .vcd file, source *_dump_all_vcd_nodes.tcl in QuestaSim*.
  9. To generate the .vcd file, simulate the test bench and netlist in QuestaSim*. The .vcd file generates according to your specifications.
  10. Specify the .vcd as an input to power analysis, as Generating Signal Activity Data for Power Analysis describes.
4 Specify the full hierarchical path in the testbench, not just the instance name. For example, specify a|b|c, not just c.
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