Intel® Hyperflex™ Architecture High-Performance Design Handbook

ID 683353
Date 12/08/2023
Public
Document Table of Contents

2.1.1.1. Speed and Timing Closure

Failure to close timing occurs when actual circuit performance is lower than the fMAX requirement of your design. If the target FPGA device has many available resources for logic placement, timing closure is easier and requires less processing time.

Timing closure of a slow circuit is not inherently easier than timing closure of a faster circuit, because slow circuits typically include more combinational logic between registers. When a path includes many nodes, the Fitter must place nodes away from each other, resulting in significant routing delay. In contrast, a heavily pipelined circuit is much less dependent on placement, which simplifies timing closure.

Use realistic timing margins when creating your design. Consider that portions of the design can make contact an distort one another as you add logic to the system. Adding stress to the system is typically detrimental to speed. Allowing more timing margin at the start of the design process helps mitigate this problem.