Xilinx

About: Xilinx is a company organization based out in San Jose, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Programmable logic device & Integrated circuit. The organization has 2814 authors who have published 5275 publications receiving 91373 citations. The organization is also known as: Xilinx, Inc. & Xilinx (United States).

Internet Connected FPL

Abstract: In this paper we explore the design of internet-based systems using field-programmable logic (FPL). We describe results from designing a hardware platform that connects FPL directly to an internet. This hardware platform comprises an FPGA; an Ethernet interface; storage for static and dynamic configuration; and nonvolatile configuration logic. An important feature of our hardware platform design is the implementation of network protocols that allow transfer of both application and configuration data to and from an FPGA across an internet. We provide quantitative comparisons between the implementation of network protocols in programmable logic and implementations using general-purpose processors.

Flushing-Enabled Loop Pipelining for High-Level Synthesis

Abstract: Loop pipelining is a widely-accepted technique in high-level synthesis to enable pipelined execution of successive loop iterations to achieve high performance. Existing loop pipelining methods provide inadequate support for pipeline flushing. In this paper, we study the problem of enabling flushing in pipeline synthesis and examine its implications in scheduling and binding. We propose novel techniques for synthesizing a conflict-aware flushing-enabled pipeline that is robust against potential resource collisions. Experiments with real-life benchmarks show that our methods significantly reduce the possibility of resource collisions compared to conventional approaches while conserving hardware resources and achieving near-optimal performance.

Method and apparatus for timing management in a converted design

Abstract: Described is a method of converting one representation of a circuit into another. For example, a first network representation adapted for use with an FPGA can be converted into a second network representation adapted for use in a mask-programmable gate array. The method begins with accessing the first network representation, such as a netlist, and identifying signal paths that might be sensitive to race conditions. Representations of delay elements are then inserted into each sensitive signal path. The timing of the modified network representation is then modeled by calculating the delays associated with each signal path. Any differences in the modeled delay values are minimized by modifying one or more of the inserted delay-element representations. In one embodiment, the inserted delay-element representations include stopper cells that maintain the nets to and/or from the delay-element representations. Delay-element representations can therefore be modified without altering the circuit timing of related net segments.

Programmable connector for programmable logic device

Abstract: A structure especially useful in a configurable logic array includes a plurality of conductive interconnect lines located along the perimeter of a logic array chip. Lines running from exterior pins or pads can be used by a programmable interconnect circuit to control signals applied to these interconnect lines. In particular, both the signal and the complement of the signal can be used by the programmable interconnect to control application of a supply voltage to an interconnect line. A second supply voltage is applied through a resistor to the interconnect line with the result that the interconnect line will carry a logical signal representing a logical function, for example AND, of a selected set of input signals or their complements. Lines running from points interior to the configurable logic array chip may also contribute to the signal generated on an interconnect line. In one embodiment, bidirectional programmable interconnect circuits allow the input pins to function as either input or output pins. An application of the decoder circuit is described for use with a latch as a data/address demultiplexer.

Practical Synthesis of High-Performance Analog Circuits

Abstract: Practical Synthesis of High-Performance Analog Circuits presents a technique for automating the design of analog circuits. Market competition and the astounding pace of technological innovation exert tremendous pressure on circuit design engineers to turn ideas into products quickly and get them to market. In digital Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) design, computer aided design (CAD) tools have substantially eased this pressure by automating many of the laborious steps in the design process, thereby allowing the designer to maximise his design expertise. But the world is not solely digital. Cellular telephones, magnetic disk drives, neural networks and speech recognition systems are a few of the recent technological innovations that rely on a core of analog circuitry and exploit the density and performance of mixed analog/digital ASICs. To maximize profit, these mixed-signal ASICs must also make it to market as quickly as possible. However, although the engineer working on the digital portion of the ASIC can rely on sophisticated CAD tools to automate much of the design process, there is little help for the engineer working on the analog portion of the chip. With the exception of simulators to verify the circuit design when it is complete, there are almost no general purpose CAD tools that an analog design engineer can take advantage of to automate the analog design flow and reduce his time to market. Practical Synthesis of High-Performance Analog Circuits presents a new variation-tolerant analog synthesis strategy that is a significant step towards ending the wait for a practical analog synthesis tool. A new synthesis strategy is presented that can fully automate the path from a circuit topology and performance specifications to a sized variation-tolerant circuit schematic. This strategy relies on asymptotic waveform evaluation to predict circuit performance and simulated annealing to solve a novel non-linear infinite programming optimization formulation of the circuit synthesis problem via a sequence of smaller optimization problems. Practical Synthesis of High-Performance Analog Circuits will be of interest to analog circuit designers, CADsEDA industry professionals, academics and students.