( ESNUG 280 Item 1 ) ------------------------------------------------ [2/12/98]

From: "Anders Nordstrom" <andersn@nortel.ca>
Subject: Subtle Alignment Problems In ECO Compiler With Scanned Designs

John,

I have been working with Synopsys new ECO compiler for a while and I found
some strange behaviour by the tool.  I am doing an ECO to a scan inserted
netlist and the eco_align_design command fails sometimes.  The same number
of registers exists in both designs so that is not the problem.

When runnign eco_align_design it reports:

  NOTHING TO REPORT!
  ALIGNMENT COMPLETE!!

This to me indicates that it worked fine but, oh no, it is followed by:

  Error: Alignment not complete. Must use eco_align_design command. (ECO-95)
  Error: Complete alignment of all ports & registers not satisfied. (ECO-83)

The problem turned out to be that two registers called TTR_CS_reg[4] and
TTR_CS_reg[5] were using the same type of flip flop but with different
drive strength.  As far as I know this is only a problem when working with
scannable flip flops.

Solution: manually align the two registers with the commands:

    set_eco_align cell TTR_CS_reg[4] TTR_CS_reg[4]
    set_eco_align cell TTR_CS_reg[5] TTR_CS_reg[5]

  - Anders Nordstrom
    Northern Telecom Ltd.        Ottawa, Canada



 Sign up for the DeepChip newsletter.
Email
 Read what EDA tool users really think.


Feedback About Wiretaps ESNUGs SIGN UP! Downloads Trip Reports Advertise

"Relax. This is a discussion. Anything said here is just one engineer's opinion. Email in your dissenting letter and it'll be published, too."
This Web Site Is Modified Every 2-3 Days
Copyright 1991-2024 John Cooley.  All Rights Reserved.
| Contact John Cooley | Webmaster | Legal | Feedback Form |

   !!!     "It's not a BUG,
  /o o\  /  it's a FEATURE!"
 (  >  )
  \ - / 
  _] [_     (jcooley 1991)