Synopsys Design Compiler Tutorial 2021 -

The most fundamental constraints are related to clocks.

Synopsys Design Compiler (DC) remains the gold standard for logic synthesis in the semiconductor industry. Even in 2021, while many teams transitioned to the topographical and Explorer variants, the core DC shell remains the heartbeat of RTL-to-Gates design flow. It translates Register Transfer Level (RTL) code (Verilog or VHDL) into gate-level netlists optimized for timing, area, and power constraints based on a specific technology library.

This two-step process is preferred because it allows for better architecture handling and parameter overriding. synopsys design compiler tutorial 2021

Always run link after elaboration to ensure all modules are found.

############################################################################### # Automation Script: Synopsys Design Compiler Synthesis Flow ############################################################################### # 1. Environment Setup (Fallbacks if .synopsys_dc.setup is missing) set_app_var search_path [list . ./rtl ./libs/db $search_path] set_app_var target_library tsmc65nm_ss_0v9_125c.db set_app_var link_library * tsmc65nm_ss_0v9_125c.db # Create output directories file mkdir ./WORK ./reports ./outputs define_design_lib WORK -path ./WORK # 2. Design Ingestion analyze -format systemverilog core.sv peri.sv top.sv elaborate top current_design top # 3. Reference Linking Diagnostics link if [check_design] == 0 echo "Design Check Failed!" # 4. Apply Constraints create_clock -name sys_clk -period 5.0 [get_ports clk] set_clock_uncertainty 0.25 [get_clocks sys_clk] set_input_delay -max 1.2 -clock sys_clk [remove_from_collection [all_inputs] [get_ports clk]] set_output_delay -max 1.0 -clock sys_clk [all_outputs] set_load 0.02 [all_outputs] set_max_area 0 # 5. Core Engine Compilation compile_ultra -boundary_optimization # 6. Housekeeping and Clean Reports Generation report_design > reports/design_summary.rpt report_area -hierarchy > reports/area_hierarchy.rpt report_timing -delay_type max -max_paths 5 > reports/timing_worst_setup.rpt report_constraint -all_violators > reports/constraints_violators.rpt # 7. Write Results For P&R Flow write -format verilog -hierarchy -output outputs/top_gate.v write_sdc outputs/top.sdc echo "--- Logic Synthesis Run Executed Successfully ---" exit Use code with caution. The most fundamental constraints are related to clocks

source constraints.sdc

# Create a primary clock path with a 2ns period (500 MHz) create_clock -name sys_clk -period 2.0 [get_ports clk] # Model clock uncertainty (skew and jitter) set_clock_uncertainty 0.15 [get_clocks sys_clk] # Set external input delay relative to the clock set_input_delay -max 0.6 -clock sys_clk [remove_from_collection [all_inputs] clk] # Set external output delay relative to the clock set_output_delay -max 0.6 -clock sys_clk [all_outputs] # Set target area constraint (0 means minimize as much as possible) set_max_area 0 Use code with caution. 4. Compiling the Design It translates Register Transfer Level (RTL) code (Verilog

To use Synopsys Design Compiler, you need to: