Adaptor Board Architecture for Multi-FPGA Emulation Scalability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current FPGA verification systems lack the ability to isolate root causes of errors due to limited visibility and controllability, especially in complex IC designs, and are often proprietary, limiting user customization and increasing verification costs.
Innovation Solution
A method of integrating multiple custom prototyping boards with FPGAs into an emulation system using adaptor boards to connect and partition circuit designs across multiple FPGAs, enabling scalable and high-throughput emulation with improved observability and controllability, and utilizing serial data transmission to reduce I/O connections and synchronize clock cycles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If multiple custom prototyping boards are integrated into an emulation system, then observability and controllability of circuit designs are improved, but device complexity and system integration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the emulation architecture into distinct layers: custom prototyping boards for circuit implementation, adaptor boards for interconnection, and a controller board for centralized management. This segmentation allows each component to be developed and tested independently while maintaining overall system observability and controllability through standardized interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
Adaptor boards serve as intermediary components between custom prototyping boards and the controller board. These adaptors provide standardized connection interfaces and signal routing, enabling multiple heterogeneous boards to be integrated into a cohesive emulation system without increasing overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If proprietary FPGA verification systems are used, then verification capabilities are provided, but user customization is limited and verification costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The controller board implements universal verification capabilities that can manage multiple different custom prototyping boards through standardized interfaces. This multi-functional approach allows a single verification system to accommodate various circuit designs and board configurations, providing both reliability and user customization without requiring proprietary systems for each application.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses FPGA devices on custom prototyping boards to create hardware copies of the circuit design under verification. These physical prototypes can be directly tested and observed, eliminating the need for expensive proprietary verification systems while maintaining full verification capabilities through the adaptor board interconnection architecture.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple custom prototyping boards are connected through adaptor boards, then scalability and reusability are improved, but I/O connection requirements and synchronization complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and consolidates I/O connection management and synchronization functions into the controller board and adaptor boards. This centralization allows custom prototyping boards to focus on circuit implementation while the control infrastructure handles the complex I/O routing and clock synchronization, enabling scalability without proportionally increasing connection complexity on each board.
Solution Approach 2:
The adaptor boards implement continuous clock signal distribution and synchronization across all connected prototyping boards. This ensures that all FPGAs operate in synchronized time cycles, maintaining continuous and coherent verification operations across the entire multi-board system without requiring complex intermittent synchronization protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
An emulation system integrates multiple custom prototyping boards for emulating a circuit design. A first custom prototyping board including at least one FPGA and an interface connected to a first set of wires coupling to the at least one FPGA. A second custom prototyping board includes at least one second FPGA and an interface connected to a second set of wires coupling to the at least second FPGA. An adaptor board connects to the first custom prototyping board and the second custom prototyping board through the first interface and the second interface. The adapter board controls emulation of the circuit design and controls communication through the partitioned circuit using at least one of the first set of wires and at least one the second set of wires.