Pre-Compiled Macro Lowering for Faster FPGA CAD Compilation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The compilation time for programmable logic devices, such as high-capacity FPGAs, is excessively long due to the placement and routing of macros, leading to increased development costs, time, and variability in quality of results (QoR).
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that uses pre-compiled macros placed on programmable fabric regions, constrained to specific areas, to reduce the number of place and route decisions during compilation, thereby decreasing compilation time and improving QoR.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If macros are placed and routed at many different locations individually during compilation, then design flexibility is improved, but compilation time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-compiles macros into reusable templates before the actual design compilation process. These pre-compiled macro templates are stored in a library and can be quickly instantiated during compilation, eliminating the need to perform full place and route operations on each macro instance individually. This preliminary preparation significantly reduces compilation time while preserving design flexibility through template parameterization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates macro templates that can be copied and instantiated multiple times with different parameters. Instead of compiling each macro from scratch, the system generates copies of the pre-compiled template with customized parameters, which dramatically speeds up the compilation process while maintaining the ability to place macros at different locations with varying configurations.
2Manufacturing precision
If macros are individually placed and routed for each implementation, then placement precision is improved, but quality of results variability increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes parameterized macro templates that allow systematic variation of placement and routing parameters across different instantiations. By controlling these parameters through a unified template mechanism rather than individual ad-hoc adjustments, the system achieves consistent placement precision while reducing variability in quality of results across different implementations.
3Device complexity
If fine-grained elements are used to increase device complexity and capacity, then device functionality is improved, but compilation becomes more computationally intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the compilation process into two distinct phases: macro-level compilation (performed once to create templates) and instance-level instantiation (performed quickly during design compilation). This segmentation allows the system to handle fine-grained device complexity by pre-processing the computationally intensive macro compilation separately, thereby reducing the overall compilation time while supporting complex device functionalities.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Systems or methods of the present disclosure may provide a library including multiple macros that may be pre-compiled prior to implementation of the design. For example, a design may be mapped to one or more macros in the library, and the one or more macros may be placed into and routed between a portion of a region, one region, one or more regions of the integrated circuit device to implement the design. Since the macros may be pre-compiled, compilation time experienced by the designer may correspond to the placement and routing of the one or more macros, which may be less than compilation time for fine-grained operations. The pre-compiled logic within the macros may be set using a lookup table mask to set and/or adjust a functionality of the macro. Additionally or alternatively, the place and route operation may be performed at finer granularities to reduce bottle necks.