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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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14 years ago

Capacitance from Quartus netlist

Hello,

Introdution:

The Quartus gives a netlist file like output file. This file contain information about resistors, transistors, capacitors, etc.

Quetions:

1) How can I obtain the capacitance of this instances (resistors, transistors, capacitors, etc) in a netlist file from Quartus II tool?

I need to use the netlist file from Quartus tool, in the Nanosim tool from Synopsys, because there isn't any Altera tool to obtain the capacitance of a instance of a FPGA design.

2) There is any way to convert the netlist file (*.vo) from Quartus in a spice netlist file (*.sp) for I can use it in Nanosim tool?

Thank you for help.

4 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    14 years ago

    --- Quote Start ---

    Introdution:

    The Quartus gives a netlist file like output file. This file contain information about resistors, transistors, capacitors, etc.

    --- Quote End ---

    The assumption is wrong. The Quartus netlist file represents the synthesiszed logic in terms of LE (logical elements) and their interconnection. Transistor level netlists aren't generated by any FPGA synthesis tool neither Altera Quartus nor any other vendor's tool. The information you want isn't available for FPGA.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    14 years ago

    OK, thanks.

    1) But do you know how can I obtain (if possible) the capacitance of LE from netlist file?

    Because the Nanosim tool receives a netlist file (*.sp, *.spi, *.v) and can return the capacitance of instances.

    I have obtained the capacitance from a *.sp (Spice) netlist by the Nanosim, but I don't know how I can obtain the capacitance from a Quartus netlist (*.vo).

    2) There is any way to convert a *.vo file to a *.v file? (I have already tried to change the extension, but it didn't work).

    3) There is another way to obtain the capacitance of a file from Quartus?!

    Thank you so much.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    14 years ago

    As said, Altera doesn't provide the transistor level netlists required by an ASIC design tool like NanoSim. Quartus has an powerplay as it's own power analysis tool. Refer to the Quartus software handbook to learn about it#s features.

    Basically, it would be possible to estimate typical capacitance values of LEs, registers and other resources for dynamic power consumption calculations, either from Quartus PowerPlay results or from your own electrical measurements. But I wonder, if it serves any purpose and can e.g. give more accurate results than the PowerPlay tool itself.