UVM for FPGAs (Part 2): Solving FPGA Verification Challenges with UVM

Abstract:

Today’s FPGAs have become larger in logic density and can handle complex designs with multi-million system logic cells. The traditional verification techniques of simple simulations combined with a detailed validation in the lab simply do not scale up any longer. Even to map a large logic design to a modern-day FPGA takes many hours. FPGA verification is more and more moving towards simulation-based techniques and requiring more advanced verification capabilities such as those used in ASICs. In the field of ASIC design verification, UVM is the de-facto standard in developing testbenches, stimulus and coverage. While there is nothing ASIC-specific in UVM, the sheer complexity, transaction level methodology and object-oriented approach keep many un-initiated FPGA designers away from adopting UVM.

In this webinar, we will share our experience in making UVM adoption easier for FPGAs. We will show how VHDL designs can use UVM testbenches with great ease. We will demonstrate how simple TCL based apps can help FPGA designers to quickly create a template for a given design. The availability of such apps will expedite UVM adoption in the FPGA community. We will also talk about certain unique challenges in FPGAs for space applications such as error injection testing and how UVM can be customized in solving some of these challenges.

Agenda:

• FPGA evolution, complexity
• Why UVM for FPGAs
• UVM top-down and bottom-up view
• Using UVM for VHDL design
  • Port mapping rules
  • Binding SVA assertions to VHDL
• TCL apps to automate UVM skeleton in FPGA flow
• Error injection in UVM simulations for FPGAs
• Details of Aldec solution
• Live demo
• Conclusion
• Q&A