Device-Specific Power Delivery Network (PDN) Tool 2.0 User Guide

ID 683293
Date 8/24/2021
Public
Document Table of Contents

1.2.2.1.6. Rail Group Summary Section

In this section, you can find a list of the following calculated key parameters of all power groups:

  • Voltage
  • Total Current
  • Dynamic Current Change
  • Noise Tolerance
  • Core Clock Frequency
  • Current Ramp Up Period
  • ZTARGET

These options allow you to customize how the data is collected or analyzed.

The Dynamic Current Change parameter has a pull-down menu with the following options:

  • Calculate
  • Override

Dynamic current change percentage requires a lot of diligence. The EPE and power analyzer both deliver values for current usage that include:

  • the maximum static current (does not vary)
  • the maximum current usage by the active elements

This calculation yields both a very high total current and a fairly high dynamic current usage. Calculations for a value to insert into the Dynamic Current Change field can yield a value much lower than the auto-populated value, which represents a safe engineering value.

The Noise Tolerance parameter has a pull-down menu with the following options:

  • Calculate
  • Override

Some PDN tool variants allow you to add data for the Core Clock Frequency and Current Ramp Up Period parameters using the pull-down menus. These values tell the tool how to calculate the current ramp up period for transient events, sometimes reducing transient current changes. The values relate to how fast the clock for the section is running, and the length of the data pipeline. Given a transient change in the input data, there are clock cycles in the pipeline for the algorithm to deliver the results. If the input data change activates a broad yet short pipeline, the transient is abrupt. This results in a large current change for the number of logic elements being used. If the pipeline is narrow and long, the overall change in current usage is proportionately smaller.

You can set the Core Clock Frequency parameter to a High, Medium, Low, or Custom set of input frequencies. The Custom option allows you to enter a specific input frequency.

The Current Ramp Up Period parameter allows you to specify the number of clock cycles consumed by the pipeline. You can select a Long, Medium, Short, or Custom setting.

Core Clock Frequency and Current Ramp Up Period options are highly dependent upon the core utilization setup in Intel® Quartus® Prime. Thus, options in the PDN tool can be used as a reference.