ASIC prototyping

In support of the rapidly growing ASIC prototyping market, Synplicity has expanded its FPGA-based ASIC prototyping solution offerings by introducing Synplify Proto Single-Chip ASIC RTL Prototyping software.

The Synplify Proto software is claimed to be the first prototyping tool to address the need for single FPGA prototyping by integrating logic synthesis (Synplicity’s Synplify Pro Advanced FPGA synthesis) with debugging capabilities (Synplicity’s Identify RTL Debugger).

The product also includes a utility to convert instantiated Synopsys DesignWare IP in the customer’s ASIC RTL code to synthesizeable RTL equivalents for the FPGA.

Synplicity used its prototyping expertise to develop the Synplify Proto software and to provide customers who prototype using a single FPGA with similar performance benefits as its multi-FPGA solution, Certify ASIC RTL Prototyping software.

Features of both prototyping tools include automatic recognition and translation of ASIC elements, such as gate-level components or gated-clock tree structures, to an appropriate form for FPGA implementation.

The Synplify Proto product was engineered so that no RTL code modifications are required to bring the entire ASIC RTL source code, or a chosen portion of it, into FPGAs for the purpose of prototyping. The designer can then use the debugging feature to find and solve problems within their FPGA prototype.

This provides a closed-loop environment for error detection and error correction, shortening the time to debug the ASIC RTL. To aid in determining design functionality the tool also includes Synplicity’s HDL Analyst design visualization environment. Designers can use this feature to cross-probe between the RTL source code and the schematics of the design. This is a critical capability for designers needing to prototype only a portion of their design.