7 Introduction

The SmartDesign tool is a visual block-based design creation and entry tool for instantiating, configuring, and connecting Microchip IPs, user-generated IPs, and custom and glue-logic HDL modules. The tool provides a canvas for stitching together the various design components.

The resulting HDL from the SmartDesign tool is a Design-Rule-Checked (DRC) and synthesis-ready HDL file. A generated SmartDesign can be the entire FPGA design or a component subsystem to be reused in a larger design.

The SmartDesign canvas instantiates the following design objects:

  • Microchip IP cores
  • User-generated or third-party IP cores
  • HDL modules
  • HDL parameterized core modules
  • Basic macros
  • Other SmartDesign components
  • Reusable design blocks published from the Libero® SoC Design Suite

The SmartDesign tool provides the following features for effortless design creation and visualization:

  • Addition of synthesis attributes to design objects
  • Visualization of the memory map of the design
  • Smart Search and Connect tool for fast design look-up and connectivity for complex designs
  • Smart Search and Filter to create focused cones of the design on the canvas