Advanced VHDL Design Techniques

Course Description

You will learn & practice efficient coding techniques for writing synthesizable VHDL for programmable logic devices (FPGAs & CPLDs). While the concepts presented will mainly target Altera® FPGA devices using the Quartus® II software, many can be applied to other devices & synthesis tools. You will gain experience writing behavioral & structural code & learn to effectively code common logic functions including registers, memory, & arithmetic functions. You will use VHDL constructs to parameterize your designs to increase their flexibility & reusability. You will also be introduced to testbenches, VHDL constructs used to build them, & common ways to write them. The exercises will use the Quartus II software version to process VHDL code & ModelSim®-Altera software for simulation.

At Course Completion

You will be able to:

  • Develop coding styles for efficient synthesis when:
  • Targeting device features
  • Inferring logic functions
  • Using arithmetic operators
  • Writing state machines
  • Use Quartus II software RTL Viewer to verify correct synthesis results
  • Incorporate Altera structural blocks in VHDL designs
  • Write simple testbenches for verification
  • Create parameterized designs

Skills Required

  • Completion of the "Introduction to VHDL" course or some prior knowledge and use of VHDL
  • Background in digital logic design
  • Understanding of synthesis and simulation processes

Prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses:

Follow-on Courses

Upon completing this course, we recommend the following courses (in no particular order):

Related Courses

Below are the related courses you may be interested in:

Applicable Training Curriculum

This course is part of the following Altera training curriculum:

 

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