Optimizing Regular Fabric Paths - 2021.2 English

UltraFast Design Methodology Guide for Xilinx FPGAs and SoCs

Document ID
UG949
Release Date
2021-11-19
Version
2021.2 English

Regular fabric paths are paths between fabric registers or shift registers that traverse a mix of resources, such as LUTs. The report_design_analysis Timing Path Characteristics table provides the best logic path topology summary, where the following issues can be identified:

  • Several small LUTs are cascaded

    Mapping to LUTs is impacted by hierarchy, the presence of KEEP_HIERARCHY, DONT_TOUCH, or MARK_DEBUG attributes, or intermediate signals with some fanout (10 and higher). Run the opt_design -remap option or use the AddRemap or ExploreWithRemap directives to collapse smaller LUTs and reduce the number of logic levels. If opt_design is unable to optimize the longest paths due to a net fanout greater than one between the small LUTs, you can force the optimization by setting the LUT_REMAP property on the LUTs.

  • Single CARRY cell is present in the path

    CARRY primitives are most beneficial for timing QoR when cascaded. CARRY cells are more difficult to place than LUTs, and forcing synthesis to use LUTs rather than a single CARRY allows for better LUTs structuring and more flexible placement in many cases. Try the FewerCarryChains synthesis directive or the PerfThresholdCarry strategy (Project Mode only) to eliminate most single CARRY cells. Alternatively, use the CARRY_REMAP property to instruct opt_design to remap the tagged CARRY cells to LUTs.

    Note: This optimization technique is automatically applied by the report_qor_suggestions Tcl command.
  • Path ends at shift register (SRL)

    Pull the first register out of the shift register by using the SRL_STYLE attribute in RTL. For details, see this link in the Vivado Design Suite User Guide: Synthesis (UG901). Alternatively, you can use the SRL_STAGES_TO_REG_INPUT property applied prior to opt_design to implement the same optimization. For details, see this link in the Vivado Design Suite User Guide: Implementation (UG904).

    Note: This optimization technique is automatically applied by the report_qor_suggestions Tcl command.
  • Path ends at a fabric register (FD) clock enable or synchronous set/reset

    If the path ending at the data pin (D) has more margin and fewer logic levels, use the EXTRACT_ENABLE or EXTRACT_RESET attribute and set it to "no" on the signal in RTL. Alternatively, you can instruct opt_design to perform the same optimization by setting the CONTROL_SET_REMAP property on the registers to optimize.

    Note: This optimization technique is automatically applied by the report_qor_suggestions Tcl command.
    Tip: To cross-probe from a post-synthesis path to the corresponding RTL view and source code, see this link in the Vivado Design Suite User Guide: Design Analysis and Closure Techniques (UG906).