15.7.4 Creating Regions

With ChipPlanner, you can create empty, exclusive, inclusive, QuadrantClock and LocalClock regions under certain conditions:

Table 15-5. Types of Regions
Region TypeConditions
Empty
  • Cannot assign macros to an empty region
  • Cannot create empty regions in areas that contain locked macros
Exclusive
  • Only contains macros assigned to the region
  • Not supported in ProASIC and ProASIC PLUS
Inclusive
  • Contains all macros, both assigned and unassigned to the region
LocalClock
  • Can create LocalClock regions for ProASIC and ProASIC PLUS devices either in ChipPlanner or in a GCF file
  • Can create LocalClock regions for IGLOO, ProASIC3, and Axcelerator devices in a PDC file
  • Cannot resize or move a LocalClock region
  • Cannot assign logic to a LocalClock region
QuadrantClock
  • Can assign CORE, RAM, and I/Os to QuadrantClock regions that are inclusive
  • Can create QuadrantClock regions only for IGLOO and ProASIC3 devices

To create an empty or logic region:

  1. From the Region menu, choose CreateEmpty, Create Exclusive, or Create Inclusive.
  2. Click and drag the mouse over the area where you want the region to be placed. As you drag out the region, a tooltip appears in its lower-right corner, showing you how many tiles, RAMs, and I/Os are in the region.

To create a LocalClock region:

  1. In the Net tab of the Hierarchy window, select a clock net. Clock nets have a clock icon next to them in the Net view.
  2. From the Region menu, choose Create LocalClock, or click its icon in the toolbar.
  3. Click and drag a rectangle from the top-left corner of the new LocalClock region to its bottom-right corner. As you drag out the region, a tooltip appears in its lower-right corner, showing you how many tiles, RAMs, and I/Os are in the region.

To create a QuadrantClock region:

  1. In the Net tab of the Hierarchy window, select a clock net. Clock nets have a clock icon next to them in the Net view.
  2. From the Region menu, choose Create QuadrantClock, or click its icon in the toolbar. “Select a point in the Chip...” appears in the status bar.
  3. Select a point in the chip that is driven by QCLK. ChipPlanner creates a QuadrantClock region for the given net. The region name is Qclock_<netname> and appears in the Regions tab of the Hierarchy View window. A tickmark appears next to the net in the Net tab and next to all the macros driven by it.