Quartus FPGA is a unified platform that combines most of the tools that help digital circuit designers get the job done in the shortest time possible. It is specifically targeted at Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), most especially, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).
In this blog post, we talk about some of the benefits of working with the Quartus FPGA and some of the editions.
It Wasn’t Always Quartus FPGA
The Quartus FPGA didn’t bear this name when it first came into the programmable logic market. The original name was the Altera Quartus II. That was when it was released by the parent company, Altera.
It would later be renamed the Altera Quartus Prime. Following Intel’s acquisition of Altera, the name was now changed to the Intel Quartus Prime.
According to Wikipedia, the Quartus FPGA supports a wide range of programmable logic functions, ranging from “enabling analysis and synthesis of HDL designs, which enables the developer to compile their designs, perform timing analysis, examine RTL diagrams” and a host of other functionalities.
The long and short of it is that the Quartus FPGA is the major platform you want to use when you want to have an in-house tooling platform for configuring your Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).
Features
In this section, we talk about some of the features making up the Quartus FPGA. Here are some of them:
1. Multi-Device Support
No matter the type of device or application you are targeting, rest assured that the Quartus FPGA fits into the required configuration needs.
It is the go-to configurable logic platform for the following:
- Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs)
- Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)
- System-on-Chips (SoCs)
It also supports a wide range of Intel devices, including the Intel Cyclone 10 GX, Intel Agilex and the Intel Cyclone 10 LP. It also supports the Intel Arria (II & V), Intel MAX Series, Intel Stratix 10 and the Intel Arria 10.
2. Powered by Improved Technology
The 10 nanometer (nm) SuperFin process technology drives the performance of the Quartus FPGA. It also combines with the second-generation Intel HyperFlex FPGA Architecture to deliver up to 2 times the initial speed of the other FPGAs, as per the fabric performance per watt measurement.
The Quartus FPGA also supports the powerful Quad-Core Arm Cortex-A53 processor, which is exclusively used for the Intel Agilex System-on-a-Chip (SoC) Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).
3. RTL Analyzer
RTL Analyzers are one of the core attributes of the Quartus FPGA. In the Intel Quartus Prime FPGA software, it embodies the use of a faster design loading architecture, an improved WYSIWYG netlist viewer and several optimization interfaces.
On the list of the optimization peripherals are fast filtering to focus on the swept hierarchies, visualization of the optimized logics and the capability to handle up to 10 million records.
Quartus FPGA’s RTL Analyzer also supports a unified cross probing across the different design views.
4. A New Way of Reporting
Reporting peripherals in the Quartus FPGA help the developer or digital circuit designer to get real-time information on the device’s performance. In this case, we are looking at the inclusion of several (new) reporting tools.
First, there is the visualization of the global routing congestion, to help ascertain possible lapses in the system.
Second, the Quartus FPGA supports the unexpected clock crossings, as well as the support for the support-logic generation report for the F-Tile.
5. Faster Design Closure with the Design Assistant
Configuring an FPGA takes time. For beginners, it can be more complicated because of the processes involved. One of the most important things to do is to pay attention to the design closure, that is, ensuring that the final design comes out neat.
Beginners can take advantage of the Intel Quartus FPGA’s Design Assistant, which is also called the Snapshot Viewer. It helps them get real-time guidance on how to close their designs.
As a productivity tool, the Design Assistant also helps novices and beginners alike to speed up the configuration process by using the set iteration checks at every stage of the development to confirm that the design is coming out as expected.
The Quartus FPGA Design Assistant also comes in handy when looking to use additional rules to reduce the numbers of design-related iterations. One of such (new) rules enabled in the Quartus FPGA is the New DRC Linting Rules that help avoid the corruption of the Random Access Memory (RAM).
6. Enhanced Memory Support
The Intel Quartus Prime FPGA software made necessary changes in the software’s memory to help speed up the design process. One of such changes is the targeting of the initializations per instance.
The software also supports the initialization of the core memory, including the M20K and the LUTRAM.
It also supports the randomization of the initialization value, while providing multiple random patterns and seeds.
7. Design Netlist Infrastructure (DNI)
The DNI is a dedicated project that provides the Quartus FPGA with the unified database that helps in simplifying the programable logic device designs.
It is a tri-architecture spanning across a readable data model, a comprehensive scripting interface and an application interface that helps separate the primary interface from the database layer.
Intel Quartus FPGA’s Editions
The editions of the Intel Quartus Prime FPGA software span across the Lite Edition, Standard Edition and Pro Edition. The Intel Quartus Prime Pro Edition builds on the designs and configurations of the previous editions, especially the Standard Edition.
It provides support for the latest Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) manufactured by Intel, provides a wide range of customization options and caps it with the advanced synthesis and flexible design methodologies.
Some of the attributes of the Intel Quartus Prime Pro Edition are the partial reconfiguration feature that allows for the re-optimization or reconfiguration of a part of the existing FPGAs. It also supports the hierarchical project structure that supports the optimization of the existing designs without having to have routing challenges or impact the partition placements.
Last but not least, the Intel Quartus Prime FPGA Pro Edition software offers a platform designer that supports the customization of IP integrations, as well as the expansion of the system design.
Conclusion
You need the Quartus FPGA to facilitate real-time development, deployment and optimization of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). It saves time, money and provides multiple peripherals in the same box.
