Using Test Benches and Stimulus Files - 2021.1 English

Vivado Design Suite User Guide: Logic Simulation (UG900)

Document ID
UG900
Release Date
2021-06-16
Version
2021.1 English

A test bench is Hardware Description Language (HDL) code written for the simulator that:

  • Instantiates and initializes the design.
  • Generates and applies stimulus to the design.
  • Monitors the design output result and checks for functional correctness (optional).

You can also set up the test bench to display the simulation output to a file, a waveform, or to a display screen. A test bench can be simple in structure and can sequentially apply stimulus to specific inputs.

A test bench can also be complex, and can include:

  • Subroutine calls
  • Stimulus that is read in from external files
  • Conditional stimulus
  • Other more complex structures

The advantages of a test bench over interactive simulation are that it:

  • Allows repeatable simulation throughout the design process
  • Provides documentation of the test conditions

The following bullets are recommendations for creating an effective test bench.

  • Always specify the `timescale in Verilog test bench files. For example:
    'timescale 1ns/1ps
  • Initialize all inputs to the design within the test bench at simulation time zero to properly begin simulation with known values.
  • Apply stimulus data after 100 ns to account for the default Global Set/Reset (GSR) pulse used in functional and timing-based simulation.
  • Begin the clock source before the Global Set/Reset (GSR) is released.

For more information about test benches, see Writing Efficient Test Benches (XAPP199).

Tip: When you create a test bench, remember that the GSR pulse occurs automatically in the post-synthesis and post-implementation timing simulation. This holds all registers in reset for the first 100 ns of the simulation.