AN 307: Intel® FPGA Design Flow for Xilinx* Users

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ID 683562
Date 3/20/2018
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Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Introduction to Intel® FPGA Design Flow for Xilinx* Users 2. Technology Comparison 3. FPGA Tools Comparison 4. Xilinx* to Intel® FPGA Design Conversion 5. Conclusion 6. Document Revision History for Intel® FPGA Design Flow for Xilinx* Users
2. Technology Comparison x
2.1. Intel® FPGAs 2.2. Xilinx* FPGAs 2.3. Comparison Table 2.4. Intel® FPGA Device Features
3. FPGA Tools Comparison x
3.1. Hardware and Software Tools for FPGA Design 3.2. FPGA Design Flow Using Command Line Scripting 3.3. FPGA Design Flow Using Tools with GUIs 3.4. Additional Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Features
3.2. FPGA Design Flow Using Command Line Scripting x
3.2.1. Command-Line Executable Equivalents 3.2.2. Programming and Configuration File Support in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software
3.2.1. Command-Line Executable Equivalents x
3.2.1.1. synth_design 3.2.1.2. place_design/route_design 3.2.1.3. report_timing 3.2.1.4. write_bitstream 3.2.1.5. write_sdf/write_verilog/write_vhdl 3.2.1.6. report_power 3.2.1.7. write_checkpoint 3.2.1.8. Run Complete Design Flow
3.3. FPGA Design Flow Using Tools with GUIs x
3.3.1. Project Creation 3.3.2. Design Entry 3.3.3. IP Status 3.3.4. Design Constraints 3.3.5. Synthesis 3.3.6. Design Implementation 3.3.7. Finalize Pinout 3.3.8. Viewing and Editing Design Placement 3.3.9. Static Timing Analysis 3.3.10. Generation of Device Programming Files 3.3.11. Power Analysis 3.3.12. Simulation 3.3.13. Hardware Verification 3.3.14. View Netlist 3.3.15. Design Optimization 3.3.16. Techniques to Improve Productivity 3.3.17. Cross-Probing in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software
3.3.2. Design Entry x
3.3.2.1. HDL Editor 3.3.2.2. Schematic/Block Editor 3.3.2.3. State Machine Editor 3.3.2.4. IP Catalog and Parameter Editor 3.3.2.5. Platform Designer System Integration Tool 3.3.2.6. Platform Designer Component Editor
3.3.4. Design Constraints x
3.3.4.1. Assignment Editor 3.3.4.2. Create Timing Constraints with the Timing Analyzer GUI 3.3.4.3. Create Timing Constraints with the Timing Analyzer Text Editor
3.3.7. Finalize Pinout x
3.3.7.1. Pin Planner 3.3.7.2. Interface Planner
3.3.12. Simulation x
3.3.12.1. Simulation Models for Designs Containing LPMs or IP Cores
3.3.13. Hardware Verification x
3.3.13.1. System Console 3.3.13.2. Signal Tap Logic Analyzer 3.3.13.3. In-System Sources and Probes 3.3.13.4. Transceiver Toolkit 3.3.13.5. EMIF Debug Toolkit 3.3.13.6. Remote Debugging 3.3.13.7. Other Intel® FPGA Debugging Tools
3.3.14. View Netlist x
3.3.14.1. RTL Viewer 3.3.14.2. Technology Map Viewer
3.3.15. Design Optimization x
3.3.15.1. Hyper-Aware Design Flow 3.3.15.2. Physical Synthesis Optimization
3.3.16. Techniques to Improve Productivity x
3.3.16.1. Rapid Recompile 3.3.16.2. Block-Based Design Flow 3.3.16.3. Design Space Explorer II
3.4. Additional Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Features x
3.4.1. Scripting with Tcl in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software
3.4.1. Scripting with Tcl in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software x
3.4.1.1. Running Scripts from the DOS or UNIX Prompt 3.4.1.2. Running Scripts in Batch Mode from a Shell 3.4.1.3. Running Tcl Commands Directly from the Command Line 3.4.1.4. Running Tcl Commands Interactively from the Shell 3.4.1.5. The Intel® Quartus® Prime Tcl Console Window
4. Xilinx* to Intel® FPGA Design Conversion x
4.1. Replacing Xilinx* Primitives 4.2. Converting IP Cores 4.3. Setting Equivalent Xilinx* Design Constraints 4.4. Setting Up the Simulation Environment
4.1. Replacing Xilinx* Primitives x
4.1.1. Converting I/O Buffers 4.1.2. Changing Default I/O Standard for Pins
4.1.1. Converting I/O Buffers x
4.1.1.1. Example of Converting I/O Buffer Converting BUFG, IBUFG, and OBUF in Verilog HDL. Converting BUFG, IBUFG, and OBUF in VHDL.
4.2. Converting IP Cores x
4.2.1. Converting Memory Blocks 4.2.2. Converting Mixed-Mode Clock Manager (MMCM) to Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) 4.2.3. Converting Multipliers
4.2.1. Converting Memory Blocks x
4.2.1.1. Embedded Memory Blocks 4.2.1.2. Differences Between Xilinx* Memory and Intel® FPGA Memory 4.2.1.3. Determining Memory Block and Mapping Ports 4.2.1.4. Memory Port Mapping 4.2.1.5. Example: Converting Simple Dual-Port RAM
4.2.1.2. Differences Between Xilinx* Memory and Intel® FPGA Memory x
4.2.1.2.1. Memory Mode 4.2.1.2.2. Clocking Mode 4.2.1.2.3. Write and Read Operation Triggering 4.2.1.2.4. Read-During-Write Operation at the Same Address 4.2.1.2.5. Error Correction Code (ECC) 4.2.1.2.6. Byte Enable 4.2.1.2.7. Address Clock Enable 4.2.1.2.8. Parity Bit Support 4.2.1.2.9. Memory Initialization 4.2.1.2.10. Output Synchronous Set/Reset
4.2.2. Converting Mixed-Mode Clock Manager (MMCM) to Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) x
4.2.2.1. Feature Comparison 4.2.2.2. Port Mapping Reference 4.2.2.3. Example: Converting Xilinx* MMCM into an Intel® PLL
4.2.3. Converting Multipliers x
4.2.3.1. Feature Comparison 4.2.3.2. Port Mapping 4.2.3.3. Example: Converting to the LPM_MULT IP Core 4.2.3.4. Example: Converting to the Intel® FPGA Multiply Adder IP core
4.3. Setting Equivalent Xilinx* Design Constraints x
4.3.1. Device Constraints 4.3.2. Placement Constraints 4.3.3. Timing Constraints 4.3.4. Retimer Constraints
4.3.1. Device Constraints x
4.3.1.1. DRIVE 4.3.1.2. SLEW 4.3.1.3. IOB 4.3.1.4. IOSTANDARD 4.3.1.5. KEEP
4.3.2. Placement Constraints x
4.3.2.1. PBLOCK 4.3.2.2. PACKAGE_PIN 4.3.2.3. LOC & BEL 4.3.2.4. PROHIBIT
4.3.2.1. PBLOCK x
4.3.2.1.1. Differences Between PBLOCK and Logic Lock Regions
4.3.3. Timing Constraints x
4.3.3.1. set_clock_groups
4.4. Setting Up the Simulation Environment x
4.4.1. Simulation Levels 4.4.2. HDL Support for EDA Simulators 4.4.3. Value Change Dump (VCD) Support 4.4.4. Simulating Intel FPGA IP Cores
1. Introduction to Intel® FPGA Design Flow for Xilinx* Users
2. Technology Comparison
3. FPGA Tools Comparison
4. Xilinx* to Intel® FPGA Design Conversion
5. Conclusion
6. Document Revision History for Intel® FPGA Design Flow for Xilinx* Users

4.1.1.1. Example of Converting I/O Buffer

In this example, the clk, a, and b inputs are global signals, and the a and b inputs use the IBUFG I/O Standard.

Converting BUFG, IBUFG, and OBUF in Verilog HDL.

Original Verilog HDL Code in the Vivado* Software 

module Top (a, b, c, clk);
 input a, b, clk;
 output c;
 reg c_buf;
 wire a_buf, b_buf, clk_buf;
 BUFG inst1 (.O (clk_buf), .I (clk));
 IBUFG #("FALSE", "SSTL12") inst2 (.O (a_buf), .I (a));
 IBUFG #("FALSE", "SSTL18_I") inst3 (.O (b_buf), .I (b));
 OBUF inst4 (.O (c), .I (c_buf));
 always @ (posedge clk_buf) c_buf <= a_buf & b_buf;
endmodule

Converted Verilog HDL Code in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software 

module Top (a, b, c, clk);
    input a, b, clk;
    output c;
   
    reg c_buf;
    wire a_buf, b_buf, clk_buf;

    assign clk_buf = clk;
    assign a_buf = a;
    assign b_buf = b;
    assign c = c_buf;

    always @ (posedge clk_buf)
	  c_buf <= a_buf & b_buf;
endmodule

Converting BUFG, IBUFG, and OBUF in VHDL.

Original VHDL Code in the Vivado* Software 

LIBRARY ieee;
USE ieee.std_logic_1164.all;
ENTITY buf_top IS PORT(
    a, b : IN STD_ULOGIC; clk : IN STD_ULOGIC; c : OUT STD_ULOGIC);
END buf_top;

ARCHITECTURE Behave OF buf_top IS
    SIGNAL a_buf, b_buf, c_buf, clk_buf : STD_ULOGIC; COMPONENT BUFG
    PORT (O : OUT STD_ULOGIC; I : IN STD_ULOGIC); END COMPONENT;
    COMPONENT IBUFG
        generic(IBUF_LOW_PWR : boolean := FALSE;
                IOSTANDARD : String := "DEFAULT");
    PORT (O : OUT STD_ULOGIC; I : IN STD_ULOGIC); END COMPONENT;

    COMPONENT OBUF
    PORT (O : OUT STD_ULOGIC; I : IN STD_ULOGIC); END COMPONENT;

    BEGIN
        inst1 : BUFG
        PORT MAP (O => clk_buf, I => clk);
        inst2 : IBUFG
        generic map(
            IBUF_LOW_PWR => FALSE,
            IOSTANDARD => "SSTL12")
        PORT MAP (O => a_buf,I => a);
        inst3 : IBUFG
        generic map(
            IBUF_LOW_PWR => FALSE,
            IOSTANDARD => "SSTL18_I")
        PORT MAP (O => b_buf, I => b);
        inst4 : OBUF
        PORT MAP (O => c, I => c_buf);
        
        PROCESS(clk_buf) BEGIN
            IF (clk_buf'event and clk_buf = '1')
                            THEN c_buf <= a_buf AND b_buf;
            END IF;
        END PROCESS;
END Behave;

Converted VHDL Code in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software 

LIBRARY ieee;
USE ieee.std_logic_1164.all;

ENTITY Top IS
    PORT(
    a, b: IN STD_ULOGIC;
    clk: IN STD_ULOGIC;
    c: OUT STD_ULOGIC);
END Top;
ARCHITECTURE Behave OF Top IS	
    SIGNAL a_buf, b_buf, c_buf, clk_buf: STD_ULOGIC;	
    BEGIN
    PROCESS (a, b, c_buf, clk)
       BEGIN
	   clk_buf <= clk;
	   a_buf <= a;
	   b_buf <= b;
	   c <= c_buf;
    END PROCESS;

    PROCESS(clk_buf)
       BEGIN
	   IF (clk_buf'event and clk_buf = '1') THEN
	       c_buf <= a_buf AND b_buf;
	   END IF;
    END PROCESS;
END Behave;

To set the ports with specific assignments in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software, use the Assignment Editor.

Figure 11. Global Signal and I/O Standard Assignments Using the Assignment Editor

In the figure, inputs a, b, and clk are assigned as global signals, with clk as the global clock. Input ports a and b are assigned with specific I/O standards, while other ports are automatically assigned with the device-specific default I/O standard.

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