VHDL Tutorial
The purpose of this tutorial is to describe the modeling language VHDL. VHDL includes facilities for describing logical structure and function of digital systems at a number of levels of abstraction, from system level down to the gate level. It is intended, among other things, as a modeling language for specification and simulation. We can also use it for hardware synthesis if we restrict ourselves to a subset that can be automatically translated into hardware.
Architecture of FPGAs and CPLDs: A Tutorial
This paper provides a tutorial survey of architectures of commercially available high-capacity field-programmable devices (FPDs). We first define the relevant terminology in the field and then describe the recent evolution of FPDs. The three main categories of FPDs are delineated: Simple PLDs (SPLDs), Complex PLDs (CPLDs) and Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). We then give details of the architectures of all of the most important commercially available chips, and give examples of applications of each type of device.
Physical Synthesis Toolkit for Area and Power Optimization on FPGAs
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a configurable platform for implementing a variety of logic circuits. It implements a circuit by the means of logic elements, usually Lookup Tables, connected by a programmable routing network. To utilize an FPGA effectively Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools have been developed. These tools implement circuits by using a traditional CAD flow, where the circuit is analyzed, synthesized, technology mapped, and finally placed and routed on the FPGA fabric. This flow, while generally effective, can produce sub-optimal results because once a stage of the flow is completed it is not revisited. This problem is addressed by an enhanced flow known Physical Synthesis, which consists of a set of iterations of the traditional flow with one key difference: the result of each iteration directly affects the result of the following iteration. An optimization can therefore be evaluated and then adjusted as needed in the following iterations, resulting in an overall better implementation. This CAD flow is challenging to work with because for a given FPGA researchers require access to each stage of the flow in an iterative fashion. This is particularly challenging when targeting modern commercial FPGAs, which are far more complex than a simple Lookup Table and Flip-Flop model generally used by the academic community. This dissertation describes a unified framework, called the Physical Synthesis Toolkit (PST), for research and development of optimizations for modern FPGA devices. PST provides access to modern FPGA devices and CAD tool flow to facilitate research. At the same time the amount of effort required to adapt the framework to a new FPGA device is kept to a minimum. To demonstrate that PST is an effective research platform, this dissertation describes optimization and modeling techniques that were implemented inside of it. The optimizations include: an area reduction technique for XOR-based logic circuits implemented on a 4-LUT based FPGA (25.3% area reduction), and a dynamic power reduction technique that reduces glitches in a circuit implemented on an Altera Stratix II FPGA (7% dynamic power reduction). The modeling technique is a novel toggle rate estimation approach based on the XOR-based decomposition, which reduces the estimate error by 37% as compared to the latest release of the Altera Quartus II CAD tool.
Performance driven FPGA design with an ASIC perspective
FPGA devices are an important component in many modern devices. This means that it is important that VLSI designers have a thorough knowledge of how to optimize designs for FPGAs. While the design flows for ASICs and FPGAs are similar, there are many differences as well due to the limitations inherent in FPGA devices. To be able to use an FPGA efficiently it is important to be aware of both the strengths and oweaknesses of FPGAs. If an FPGA design should be ported to an ASIC at a later stage it is also important to take this into account early in the design cycle so that the ASIC port will be efficient. This thesis investigates how to optimize a design for an FPGA through a number of case studies of important SoC components. One of these case studies discusses high speed processors and the tradeoffs that are necessary when constructing very high speed processors in FPGAs. The processor has a maximum clock frequency of 357~MHz in a Xilinx Virtex-4 devices of the fastest speedgrade, which is significantly higher than Xilinx' own processor in the same FPGA. Another case study investigates floating point datapaths and describes how a floating point adder and multiplier can be efficiently implemented in an FPGA. The final case study investigates Network-on-Chip architectures and how these can be optimized for FPGAs. The main focus is on packet switched architectures, but a circuit switched architecture optimized for FPGAs is also investigated. All of these case studies also contain information about potential pitfalls when porting designs optimized for an FPGA to an ASIC. The focus in this case is on systems where initial low volume production will be using FPGAs while still keeping the option open to port the design to an ASIC if the demand is high. This information will also be useful for designers who want to create IP cores that can be efficiently mapped to both FPGAs and ASICs. Finally, a framework is also presented which allows for the creation of custom backend tools for the Xilinx design flow. The framework is already useful for some tasks, but the main reason for including it is to inspire researchers and developers to use this powerful ability in their own design tools.
Implementing video compression algorithms on reconfigurable devices
The increasing density offered by Field Programmable Gate Arrays(FPGA), coupled with their short design cycle, has made them a popular choice for implementing a wide range of algorithms and complete systems. In this thesis the implementation of video compression algorithms on FPGAs is studied. Two areas are specifically focused on; the integration of a video encoder into a complete system and the power consumption of FPGA based video encoders. Two FPGA based video compression systems are described, one which targets surveillance applications and one which targets video conferencing applications. The FPGA video surveillance system makes use of a novel memory format to improve the efficiency with which input video sequences can be loaded over the system bus. The power consumption of a FPGA video encoder is analyzed. The results indicating that the motion estimation encoder stage requires the most power consumption. An algorithm, which reuses the intra prediction results generated during the encoding process, is then proposed to reduce the power consumed on an FPGA video encoder’s external memory bus. Finally, the power reduction algorithm is implemented within an FPGA video encoder. Results are given showing that, in addition to reducing power on the external memory bus, the algorithm also reduces power in the motion estimation stage of a FPGA based video encoder.
Free Range VHDL
The no-frills guide to writing powerful code for you digital implementations.
FPGA-based reconfigurable on-board computing systems for space applications
The purpose of the thesis is to conceptualize an application method of ground-based reconfigurable FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) technologies for space systems and to apply the method to the on-board computer of the small satellite Flying Laptop for the on-orbit demonstration. The Flying Laptop satellite is the first small satellite within the Stuttgart small satellite program'' in which several small satellites are developed by the Institute of Space Systems at the Universität Stuttgart. The main mission of the Flying Laptop is to demonstrate the space use of reconfigurable FPGAs for the reconfigurable computing'' on an central on-board computer aboard a spacecraft. Due to their radiation vulnerabilities reconfigurable FPGAs have not yet been employed in practical space applications with high reliability requirements. The Flying Laptop project aims to achieve the world's first orbit demonstration of a purely FPGA-based central on-board computer. Within this research firstly, application methods of reconfigurable FPGAs for space systems were investigated, which are not limited to small satellites but for general space systems. The investigation is based on thorough experimental data survey and analysis of radiation effects on existing FPGA devices. Main radiation effects of single event effects and total ionizing dose effects were extensively investigated. Based on the data obtained, a combinational use of SRAM-FPGAs (multi-chip redundant) and Flash-FPGAs (voting element) for mitigating radiation effects was conceptualized. A mathematical system reliability analysis of repairable multi-redundant systems has been. The analysis illustrates that a multi-redundant system based on SRAM-FPGAs together with a Flash-FPGA based voter provides a sufficiently high reliability for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) missions against radiation effects. After the conceptualization of application methods of reconfigurable FPGAs for the space environment, it is applied to the on-board computer of the small satellite Flying Laptop. Flying Laptop is a cubic, 3-axis stabilized satellite with the edge lengths of about 600mm x 700mm x 800mm and a mass of about 120kg, which shall be launched into sun-synchronous LEO in an altitude of around 600km. A system architecture with four SRAM-FPGA based central processing nodes and one Flash-FPGA based voter was applied for the on-board computer of the Flying Laptop. This on-board computer is the central computing system aboard the satellite and shall be capable of controlling all satellite peripheral electronics. First of all, the system design of the whole satellite has been conducted within the scope of the thesis in order to allow the design of the on-board computer. Based on the established system requirements, the on-board computer of the Flying Laptop was designed and the breadboard model and partly the engineering model of its components are developed. The hardware logic (control algorithm) which shall be implemented into FPGAs can be designed by means of hardware description languages. However, it is no longer software engineering but hardware engineering for generating real hardware logics inside FPGAs which are executed in parallel in real-time. The satellite main functions are designed, developed, and implemented in FPGAs by means of the hardware description languages Handel-C and VHDL. The thesis provides development methods of the control algorithms. In addition to this, a control algorithm development facility has been established for the further design activities. Finally, the developed control algorithms are verified in a simulation and verification environment in order to prove the validities of the above described developments. First of all, an FPGA hardware-in-the-loop real-time simulation environment has been established based on the Model-based Development and Verification Environment (MDVE). MDVE was established at the Institute of Space Systems supported by EADS Astrium. The communication interface between the MDVE and FPGAs are developed, including the required hardware components and the serialization algorithms of communication lines inside an FPGA. Using this simulation and verification environment, extensive simulations have been conducted and the design of the on-board computer, as well as the system design of the whole satellite are validated. At the end, an extended investigation has been conducted on formal verification methods of the hardware-logic in order to provide the way of strict design verifications. This thesis establishes the basis of principle application methods of reconfigurable FPGA technologies for reconfigurable computing'' on space systems which provides innovative solutions for high computational demands of future space applications.
How to do Math's in FPGA - Using VHDL 2008
Following the introduction of VHDL 93, which introduced the numeric_std package and the signed and unsigned types, implementing fixed point maths has been fairly straight forward. Using this package, we can implement mathematics using a fixed point representation. However, to implement a fixed point algorithm we need to understand the simple rules regarding fixed point operations.
The Shock and Awe VHDL Tutorial
The purpose of this tutorial is to provide students with a guide to help develop the skills necessary to be able to use VHDL in the context of introductory and intermediate level digital design courses. These skills will allow students to not only navigate early courses, but also give them the skills and confidence to continue on with VHDL-based digital design and the development of skills required to solve more advanced digital design problems.
Security for volatile FPGAs
With recon gurable devices fast becoming complete systems in their own right, interest in their security properties has increased. While research on "FPGA security" has been active since the early 2000s, few have treated the field as a whole, or framed its challenges in the context of the unique FPGA usage model and application space. This dissertation sets out to examine the role of FPGAs within a security system and how solutions to security challenges can be provided. I offer the following contributions. I motivate authenticating configurations as an additional capability to FPGA configuration logic, and then describe a exible security protocol for remote reconfiguration of FPGA-based systems over insecure networks. Non-volatile memory devices are used for persistent storage when required, and complement the lack of features in some FPGAs with tamper proo ng in order to maintain specified security properties. A unique advantage of the protocol is that it can be implemented on some existing FPGAs (i.e., it does not require FPGA vendors to add functionality to their devices). Also proposed is a solution to the "IP distribution problem" where designs from multiple sources are integrated into a single bitstream, yet must maintain their con dentiality. I discuss the diculty of reproducing and comparing FPGA implementation results reported in the academic literature. Concentrating on cryptographic implementations, problems are demonstrated through designing three architecture-optimized variants of the AES block cipher and analyzing the results to show that single figures of merit, namely "throughput" or "throughput per slice", are often meaningless without the context of an application. To set a precedent for reproducibility in our field, the HDL source code, simulation testbenches and compilation instructions are made publicly available for scrutiny and reuse. Finally, I examine payment systems as ubiquitous embedded devices, and evaluate their security vulnerabilities as they interact in a multi-chip environment. Using FPGAs as an adversarial tool, a man-in-the-middle attack against these devices is demonstrated. An FPGA-based defense is also demonstrated: the first secure wired "distance bounding" protocol implementation. This is then put in the context of securing recon gurable systems.
How to do Math's in FPGA - Using VHDL 2008
Following the introduction of VHDL 93, which introduced the numeric_std package and the signed and unsigned types, implementing fixed point maths has been fairly straight forward. Using this package, we can implement mathematics using a fixed point representation. However, to implement a fixed point algorithm we need to understand the simple rules regarding fixed point operations.
Why You Should be Using Python/MyHDL as Your HDL
Hardware Description Languages (HDLs) revolutionized the digital hardware design landscape when they were introduced 30 years ago. The majority of the complex digital hardware (IC and FPGA) - that has irreversibly changed our lives - was enabled by HDLs-mainly Verilog and VHDL. Although the mainstay HDLs have had much success, they haven't fundamentally changed since their inception. The defacto HDLs, Verilog and VHDL, have evolved over time, but this is good and bad. These languages have new features but some newer language constructs don't fit well with existing constructs - not a clean design. MyHDL strives to be an HDL based on proven concepts that can be powerful yet elegantly expressed (i.e. clean design)
Rapid Prototyping of Embedded Video Processing Systems in FPGA Devices
Design of video processing circuits requires a variety of tools and knowledge, and it is difficult to find the right combination of tools for an efficient design process, specifically when considering open tools for evaluation or educational purpose. This chapter presents an overview of video processing requirements, programmable devices used for embed? ded video processing and the components of a video processing chain. We propose a novel design flow for generating customizable intellectual property (IP) cores used in streaming video processing applications. This design flow is based on domain-specific modules in Python language. Examples of generated cores are presented.
High Level Synthesis Tool for High Speed Packet Processing
The main objective of this Master Thesis is to design and implement a high level synthesis tool for high speed packet processing. For a given network packet, determining the destination and performing the required alterations to the packet are the key parts of Packet Processing. The idea is to provide customers a customized Ethernet switch which is reliable and flexible. As a requirement for this, a high level packet processing language (PPL) is designed instead of any hardware descriptive language because of the regularity of packet processing. The packet processing is described in a powerful way based on the PPL. In this thesis, a design of Ethernet switch based on the PPL is proposed. Hardware implementation is done for the design and MyHDL is used as the hardware description language. Using Python, the compiled PPL program is translated into an hardware model. A tool has been developed which consists of a hardware generator and certain hardware infrastructures. Another part in the thesis is optimization of the initial design. For instance, optimization is done to run as much code as possible in parallel or for removal of unused hardware in the generated switch. Verification is done and synthesis results have been listed comparing the two designs. Hence, we conclude that the initial design is more flexible and has more redundancy while the optimized design is more friendly to hardware cost and power consumption.
Agile Testing on an Embedded Field Programmable Gate Array Platform
Agile software methodologies are the state of art methodologies used on current software projects. Testing is one of the main pillars of agile development and many of the practices are common among various flavours of the methodologies. Despite their wide-spread adoption in different domains, agile testing practices still seem to be a novel concept on embedded programming projects. This is specifically true when it comes to hardware design modeling. Thus, the goal of this project was to introduce the main concepts of agile testing and demonstrate their application on an Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform. The project was conceptually divided into two parts. The first one was the design and implementation of an FPGA development board. The second part focused on developing hardware design modules with a suitable hardware description language and ultimately building a contained testing system to demonstrate the most important agile testing practices. The result of the first phase was a working FPGA development board and an Ethernet extension board. During the second phase example hardware models were designed with MyHDL. Unit tests were implemented before the actual modules, thus adopting a testdriven development (TDD) approach. The tests were automated with the help of a continuous integration server. A viable process for a functional testing routine was also outlined. Based on the outcomes, it can be concluded that agile testing practices can be successfully utilized even in the specific domain of digital design. The natural continuation of this project would be the implementation of the suggested functional testing routine.
Implementing the Nintendo Entertainment System on a FPGA
In this work I try to implement the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) on a FPGA platform. The NES is one of the most famous video game consoles of the 8-bit era. Using custom designed hardware that was primarily optimized for low cost, and was not very powerful at that time, it still was the basis for a big library of high quality games, that are still fun to play today. Besides being a practical exercise in hardware design, this project aims to be a continuation of the efforts of the emulator scene, to conserve video game history by bringing it to new hardware platforms.
Accelerating Gauss-Newton Filters on FPGAs
Radar tracking filters are generally computationally expensive, involving the manipulation of large matrices and deeply nested loops. In addition, they must generally work in real-time to be of any use. The now-common Kalman Filter was developed in the 1960's specifically for the purposes of lowering its computational burden, so that it could be implemented using the limited computational resources of the time. However, with the exponential increases in computing power since then, it is now possible to reconsider more heavy-weight, robust algorithms such as the original nonrecursive Gauss-Newton filter on which the Kalman filter is based[54]. This dissertation investigates the acceleration of such a filter using FPGA technology, making use of custom, reduced-precision number formats.
Introducing the Spartan 3E FPGA and VHDL
I want to help hackers take the plunge into the world of FPGAs-- Starting at purchasing an FPGA development board, and all the way through the process of getting their first project up and running. In this eBook, we will discuss the low level details of working with FPGAs, rather than diving straight into the System on a Chip (SOAC) level.
FPGAs for Dummies - Altera Special Edition
Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are integrated circuits that enable designers to program customized digital logic in the field. FPGAs have been around since the 1980s and were originally conceived to give all design teams the ability to create custom logic. In the early days, using an FPGA in your design meant you had to do a lot of programming just to get your FPGA to perform simple functions, so most designers avoided them. If you haven’t looked into FPGAs since your university studies way back when, you’ll want to take another look at them. The FPGA has evolved from a useful but humble interface device into a system-level integrated circuit (IC) with its own microprocessors, memory blocks, and interfaces. It’s the next big thing. Now would be a great time to get an inexpensive development kit, download free tools, and begin to explore this world for yourself. And this book will help you understand the practical uses of FPGAs.
Embedded Design Handbook
The Embedded Design Handbook complements the primary documentation for the Altera® tools for embedded system development. It describes how to most effectively use the tools, and recommends design styles and practices for developing, debugging, and optimizing embedded systems using Altera-provided tools. The handbook introduces concepts to new users of Altera’s embedded solutions, and helps to increase the design efficiency of the experienced user.
How to do Math's in FPGA - Using VHDL 2008
Following the introduction of VHDL 93, which introduced the numeric_std package and the signed and unsigned types, implementing fixed point maths has been fairly straight forward. Using this package, we can implement mathematics using a fixed point representation. However, to implement a fixed point algorithm we need to understand the simple rules regarding fixed point operations.
Why You Should be Using Python/MyHDL as Your HDL
Hardware Description Languages (HDLs) revolutionized the digital hardware design landscape when they were introduced 30 years ago. The majority of the complex digital hardware (IC and FPGA) - that has irreversibly changed our lives - was enabled by HDLs-mainly Verilog and VHDL. Although the mainstay HDLs have had much success, they haven't fundamentally changed since their inception. The defacto HDLs, Verilog and VHDL, have evolved over time, but this is good and bad. These languages have new features but some newer language constructs don't fit well with existing constructs - not a clean design. MyHDL strives to be an HDL based on proven concepts that can be powerful yet elegantly expressed (i.e. clean design)
Rapid Prototyping of Embedded Video Processing Systems in FPGA Devices
Design of video processing circuits requires a variety of tools and knowledge, and it is difficult to find the right combination of tools for an efficient design process, specifically when considering open tools for evaluation or educational purpose. This chapter presents an overview of video processing requirements, programmable devices used for embed? ded video processing and the components of a video processing chain. We propose a novel design flow for generating customizable intellectual property (IP) cores used in streaming video processing applications. This design flow is based on domain-specific modules in Python language. Examples of generated cores are presented.
High Level Synthesis Tool for High Speed Packet Processing
The main objective of this Master Thesis is to design and implement a high level synthesis tool for high speed packet processing. For a given network packet, determining the destination and performing the required alterations to the packet are the key parts of Packet Processing. The idea is to provide customers a customized Ethernet switch which is reliable and flexible. As a requirement for this, a high level packet processing language (PPL) is designed instead of any hardware descriptive language because of the regularity of packet processing. The packet processing is described in a powerful way based on the PPL. In this thesis, a design of Ethernet switch based on the PPL is proposed. Hardware implementation is done for the design and MyHDL is used as the hardware description language. Using Python, the compiled PPL program is translated into an hardware model. A tool has been developed which consists of a hardware generator and certain hardware infrastructures. Another part in the thesis is optimization of the initial design. For instance, optimization is done to run as much code as possible in parallel or for removal of unused hardware in the generated switch. Verification is done and synthesis results have been listed comparing the two designs. Hence, we conclude that the initial design is more flexible and has more redundancy while the optimized design is more friendly to hardware cost and power consumption.
Agile Testing on an Embedded Field Programmable Gate Array Platform
Agile software methodologies are the state of art methodologies used on current software projects. Testing is one of the main pillars of agile development and many of the practices are common among various flavours of the methodologies. Despite their wide-spread adoption in different domains, agile testing practices still seem to be a novel concept on embedded programming projects. This is specifically true when it comes to hardware design modeling. Thus, the goal of this project was to introduce the main concepts of agile testing and demonstrate their application on an Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform. The project was conceptually divided into two parts. The first one was the design and implementation of an FPGA development board. The second part focused on developing hardware design modules with a suitable hardware description language and ultimately building a contained testing system to demonstrate the most important agile testing practices. The result of the first phase was a working FPGA development board and an Ethernet extension board. During the second phase example hardware models were designed with MyHDL. Unit tests were implemented before the actual modules, thus adopting a testdriven development (TDD) approach. The tests were automated with the help of a continuous integration server. A viable process for a functional testing routine was also outlined. Based on the outcomes, it can be concluded that agile testing practices can be successfully utilized even in the specific domain of digital design. The natural continuation of this project would be the implementation of the suggested functional testing routine.
Implementing the Nintendo Entertainment System on a FPGA
In this work I try to implement the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) on a FPGA platform. The NES is one of the most famous video game consoles of the 8-bit era. Using custom designed hardware that was primarily optimized for low cost, and was not very powerful at that time, it still was the basis for a big library of high quality games, that are still fun to play today. Besides being a practical exercise in hardware design, this project aims to be a continuation of the efforts of the emulator scene, to conserve video game history by bringing it to new hardware platforms.
Accelerating Gauss-Newton Filters on FPGAs
Radar tracking filters are generally computationally expensive, involving the manipulation of large matrices and deeply nested loops. In addition, they must generally work in real-time to be of any use. The now-common Kalman Filter was developed in the 1960's specifically for the purposes of lowering its computational burden, so that it could be implemented using the limited computational resources of the time. However, with the exponential increases in computing power since then, it is now possible to reconsider more heavy-weight, robust algorithms such as the original nonrecursive Gauss-Newton filter on which the Kalman filter is based[54]. This dissertation investigates the acceleration of such a filter using FPGA technology, making use of custom, reduced-precision number formats.
Introducing the Spartan 3E FPGA and VHDL
I want to help hackers take the plunge into the world of FPGAs-- Starting at purchasing an FPGA development board, and all the way through the process of getting their first project up and running. In this eBook, we will discuss the low level details of working with FPGAs, rather than diving straight into the System on a Chip (SOAC) level.
FPGAs for Dummies - Altera Special Edition
Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are integrated circuits that enable designers to program customized digital logic in the field. FPGAs have been around since the 1980s and were originally conceived to give all design teams the ability to create custom logic. In the early days, using an FPGA in your design meant you had to do a lot of programming just to get your FPGA to perform simple functions, so most designers avoided them. If you haven’t looked into FPGAs since your university studies way back when, you’ll want to take another look at them. The FPGA has evolved from a useful but humble interface device into a system-level integrated circuit (IC) with its own microprocessors, memory blocks, and interfaces. It’s the next big thing. Now would be a great time to get an inexpensive development kit, download free tools, and begin to explore this world for yourself. And this book will help you understand the practical uses of FPGAs.
Embedded Design Handbook
The Embedded Design Handbook complements the primary documentation for the Altera® tools for embedded system development. It describes how to most effectively use the tools, and recommends design styles and practices for developing, debugging, and optimizing embedded systems using Altera-provided tools. The handbook introduces concepts to new users of Altera’s embedded solutions, and helps to increase the design efficiency of the experienced user.
