Introduction to

Programmable Logic
Devices
Oktie Hassanzadeh

Oktie Hassanzadeh
<hassanzadeh@[Link]>
Outline
 Introduction to PLDs
 Programmable Logic Devices Families
 PLDs architecture
 Digital Design Flow
 An Introduction to HDLs
 Verilog and VHDL comparison

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Classification
Digital Logic

Progammable
Standard Logic ASICs Full Custom
Logic Devices

Microprocessor
SPLDs CPLDs FPGAs & RAM

TTL CMOS Gate Standard

74xx 4xxx Arrays Cells

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Programmable Logic Devices
 FPLD (Field-Programmable Logic Device)
 Supplied with no predetermined logic function
 Programmed by user to implement any digital
logic function
 Require specialized computer software for design
and programming.
 Implementation of digital circuits with low cost
and low risk.
 Technology of choice for low to medium volume
products (say hundreds to few 10’s of thousands
per year).
 Good and low cost design softwares.
4

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Programmable Logic Devices
 SPLDs (Simple PLDs)
 PLA or PAL
 Small gate count, fixed internal routing, deterministic
propagation delays
 CPLDs
 Multiple SPLDs onto a single chip
 Programmable interconnect
 FPGAs
 An array of logic blocks
 Large number of gates, user selectable interconnection,
delays depending on design and routinig
 A high ratio of flip-flops to logic resources
5

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

SPLDs
x1 x2 xn
 PLAs (Programmable Logic Arrays)
 Logic functions in Sum Of Product form
 Both AND and OR planes are programmable
 PALs (Programmable Array Logics)
Input buffers
and  The AND plane is programmable; the OR
Inverters plane is fixed
 Simpler to manufacture, less expensive,
x1 x1 xn x n better performance than PLAs
P1
P2
Output inverters
AND plane OR plane
Pk
6

f1 fm Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

SPLDs’ Structure
x1 x2 x3 x1 x2 x3
PLA PAL
P1
P1

P2 f1
P2

P3
P3

P4 f2
P4

f1 f2
7

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

 CPLDs
1
I/O block

I/O block
PAL-like PAL-like To
block block 0 interconnection
wires

Interconnection wires
I/O block

I/O block
To
PAL-like PAL-like D I/O
block block Q block

To implement multiple logic circuits Microcell

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

FPGA
Interconnection
Switches
Logic
Block
 FPGAs do not contain
AND or OR planes
 Three elements:
 Logic blocks
 I/O blocks
 Interconnection wires
and switches

I/O
Block
9

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

FPGA Logic Block
Select
Logic Block x1
Out 0/1
In1 0/1
LUT
In2 LUT D
0/1 f
In3 Q
0/1
Clock x2

 The storage cells in the LUTs in an FPGA are volatile

 Volatile: losing stored contents whenever the power is off
 Using PROM to hold data permanently
 The storage cells are loaded automatically from PROM when
the chip is initialized

10

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Programming An FPGA
x3 f

x1
x1 0 x2 0
0
f1
1
f2 f1  x1 x2
0 0
x2 1 0 f 2  x2 x3
x2 x3
f  x1 x2  x2 x3

f1 0
1
f3
1
1
f2

11

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Programming Technologies
 Floating Gate Programming Technology
 SRAM Programming Technology
 Antifuse Programming Technology

In-System Programming (ISP) :

performing the programming
while the chip is still attached
to its circuit board

JTAG (Boundary Scan):

A port added to FPGAs for testing purposes, as a
means of downloading the design in the
programmable device via serial port of a PC 12

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

The Main Producers

13

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Altera and Xilinx PLDs
 Altera  Xilinx
 CPLD  CPLD
 MAX3000A – MAX7000
 CoolRunner-II
 CoolRunner XPLA3
 FPGA  XC9500 Series
 Cyclone  FPGA
 Stratix - Stratix GX  Rocket-PHY
 APEX II - APEX 20K  Virtex - Virtex-II -
 Mercury Virtex-II Pro Series
 FLEX 10K  Spartan-3,Spartan-IIE,
Spartan-II, Spartan-XL,
 ACEX 1K Spartan Seires

14

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

CAD Design Flow
DESIGN CONCEPTION

DESIGN ENTRY
(Truth Table, Schematic capture, HDL)

INITIAL SYNTHESIS TOOLS

(Simple synthesis, Translation, Merge)

FUNTIONAL SIMULATION
No Design correct?
Yes
Logic synthesis
Physical design
Timing simulation 15

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Hardware Description Languages
 Requirments:
 Concurrency and parallel modeling
 Timing and delay modeling
 Ability to describe event-driven functions
 Readability, Used for documentation
 Hardware independency

16

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Digital Design Levels
Switch
Data Flow
Behavioral
Structural
Example:
Example:
Behavioral Example: Up/Down
Example: Up/Down Counter
Counter
S1 switch1(vcc,in1,w1,4)
Registers <= (parallel data) and
When
(SLoad)
ff1 clock
#10 arrival :
DFF(set,reset,clk,in1,out1)
S2 switch1(w1,in2,out,4)
(10,10,3,
Registers ,)then
If (up=1)<= value++
(registers ++) and Up
#15
S3 switch2(vdd,in1,out,2)
Data flow ff2 DFF(set,reset,clk,in2,out2)
If (down=1)
Registers
(10,10,3,
S3
<=
,)
then value --
(registers --) and (not
switch2(vdd,in2,out,2)
down) #15 then value<=0
If (reset=1)
and1
… AND(in2,out1,up)
Outputs <= registers #8.
problem
……
Structural

Switch

17

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Overview of HDLs
 Two Common Languages
 Verilog
 VHDL
 Other
 SystemC
 Open source, C++ code for hardware modeling
 CDL (Computer Design Language)
 Simple academic language, data flow level, developed in 1965
 ISPS (Instruction Set Processor Specification)
 Single level of abstraction, Developed in 1971
 AHPL (A Hardware Programming Language)
 Data flow & structural levels, Unfamiliar syntax, Full support
by design tools, developed in 1970
 ABEL (Data I/O Corporation, now Lattice Semiconductor)
 AHDL (Altera Corp.)
 CUPL (Logical Devices Inc.) 18

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Verilog
 Verifying Logic
 Phil Moorby from Gateway Design Automation in
1984 to 1987
 Verilog-XL Simulator from GDA in 1986
 Synopsys synthesis tool in 1988
 In 1990 became open language, OVI
 IEEE standard, Verilog in 1995
 Various levels of abstraction
 most widely used HDL with a user community of
more than 50,000 active designers

19

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

VHDL
 VHSIC HDL: Very High Speed Integrated Circuits
Hardware Description Language
 DARPA workshop on VHSIC in 1981
 DARPA release requirement in 1983
 A language for hardware documentation
 VHDL 7.2 in 1985
 IEEE standard in 1987
 ANSI standard in 1988
 For RTL design VITAL added
 VITAL(VHDL Initiative Towards ASIC Library)
 IEEE revised VHDL & VITAL in 1993
 Final review of standard in 2001

20

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

 VHDL vs. Verilog
 Complex grammar  Easy language
 Complicated compiler  Simple & fast compiler
 Large memory for  Efficient memory usage
simulation and faster
 Hard to learn  Easy to learn for
beginner
 A lot of data types
 High level data types,
 A few data types
 Pointers  Hardware related
 Alias  Wires
 Registers

21

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

 VHDL vs. Verilog
 User defined types  All primitive types
 Strong type checking  Some castings are
 Verbose code for allowed
casting  No user defined
 User defined Library & packages
package  Include file
 Open Language  Cadence’s language at
 More EDA support first
 Less EDA support

22

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

 VHDL vs. Verilog
 VHDL, More popular in Europe
 Verilog, In USA and Japan

23

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Conclusion
 Programmable Logic Devices families
 Architecture of PLDs
 CAD design flow
 Role of HDLs in programming PLDs
 Overview of HDLs
 A comparson between two common HDLs

24

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Resources
 Books and Papers
 SALCIC, Zoran, SMAILAGIC, Asim, Digital Systems Design and
Prototyping using field programmable logic and hardware description
languages, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Massachusetts, 2000
 SEALS, R.C., WHAPSHOTT, G.F., Programmable Logic PLDs and FPGAs,
Macmillan Press, London, 1997
 PALNITKAR, Samir, Verilog HDL : A Guide to Digital Design and
Synthesis, SunSoft Press, CA, 1996
 ROSE, Jonathan, BROWN, Stephen, “FPGA and CPLD Architectues: A
Tutorial”, IEEE Design and Test of Computers, 0740-7475/96, 1996,
pp 42-56
 Web Resources
 Lennon’s ASIC page -
[Link]
 Verilog FAQ - [Link]
 Verilog Center - [Link]
 FPGA Overview - [Link]
 Digital System Design (DSD) Course page of Department of Electrical
& Electronic Engineering at Imperial College
[Link]
25

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Any Questions?

?
26

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Some Books and Resources
 Publications
 PLDs
 Digital Systems Design and Prototyping using field
programmable logic and hardware description languages by
Zoran Salcic and Asim Smailagic, Kluwer Academic
Publishers, 2000.
 Programmable Logic PLDs and FPGAs by R.C. Seals and
G.F. Whapshott, Macmillan Press, 1997
 Application-Specific Integrated Circuits by Michael John
Sebastian Smith , Addison-Wesely, 1997 (Available online
at [Link]
 Logic Synthesis by S. Devadas, A. Ghosh and K. Keutzer,
McGraw-Hill, 1994
 “FPGA and CPLD Architectues: A Tutorial” by Stephen
Brown and Jonathan Rose, IEEE Design and Test of
Computers, 0740-7475/96, 1996, pp 42-56
27

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Some Books and Resources(Continued)
 HDLs
 VHDL
 YALAMANCHILI, Sudhakar, Vhdl Starter's Guide,
Prentice Hall, 1997
 ASHENDEN, Peter J., The Designer's Guide to VHDL,
2nd Edition, Morgan Kaufmann, 2001
 DUECK, Robert K., Digital Design with CPLD
Applications and VHDL, Delmar Learning, 2000
 Verilog
 PALNITKAR, Samir, Verilog HDL : A Guide to Digital
Design and Synthesis, SunSoft Press, CA, 1996
 THOMAS, D. E., MORRBY, Philip R., The Verilog
Hardware Description Language, Fourth Edition, Kluwer
Academic Publishers, 1998
28

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Some Web Resources
 Web Resources
 FPGA/CPLDs
 FPGA Overview - [Link]
 Digital System Design (DSD) Course page of Department of
Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Imperial College
University of London -
[Link]
(Contains useful lecture notes on PLDs and more)
 The Programmable Logic Jump Station -
[Link]
 PLD FAQ - [Link]
 Altera free literature on the web -
[Link]
 Xilinx free literature on the web -
[Link]
 Xilinx Virtex info -
[Link]
 Actel free literature on the web -
[Link] 29

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>

Some Web Resources(Continued)
 HDLs
 All IEEE standards can be obtained from
[Link]
 Verilog and VHDL
 Verilog Center - [Link] (Contains
Verilog FAQ,tips,online books,papers,free stuff,tools,news and
more about PLDs)
 Open Verilog International Homepage - [Link]
 VHDL Internationl - [Link]
 SystemC
 SystemC Community - [Link]
 Newsgroups
 FPGA - [Link]
 Synthesis - [Link]
 VHDL – [Link]
 Verilog - [Link]
30

Oktie Hassanzadeh <hassanzadeh@[Link]>