Specifications

CHAPTER 12: DEBUGGING

USING THE SIGNALTAP II LOGIC ANALYZER

200 ■ INTRODUCTION TO QUARTUS II ALTERA CORPORATION

You can use the following features to set up the SignalTap II Logic Analyzer:

■ Instance Manager: The Instance Manager allows you create and

perform SignalTap II logic analysis on multiple embedded instances of

the logic analyzer in each device. You can use it to create, delete,

rename, and apply settings to separate and unique logic analyzer

instances in the SignalTap II File. The Instance Manager displays all

instances in the current SignalTap II File, the current status of each

associated instance, and the number of logic elements and memory bits

used in the associated instance. The Instance Manager helps you to

check the amount of resource usage that each logic analyzer requires on

the device. You can start multiple logic analyzers at the same time by

selecting them and selecting Run Analysis (Processing menu).

■ Triggers: A trigger is a pattern of logic events defined by logic levels,

clock edges, and logical expressions. The SignalTap II Logic Analyzer

supports multilevel triggering, multiple trigger positions, multiple

segments, and external trigger events. You can set trigger options using

the Signal Configuration panel in the SignalTap II Logic Analyzer

window and specify advanced triggers by selecting Advanced in the

Trigger Levels column in the Setup tab of the SignalTap II Logic

Analyzer window.

Advanced triggers provide the ability to build flexible, user-defined

logic expressions and conditions based on the data values of internal

buses or nodes. Using the Advanced Trigger tab, you can drag and

drop symbols from the Node List and the Object Library to create a

logical expression composed of logical, comparison, bitwise, reduction,

shift operators, and event counters. Figure 4 shows the Advanced

Trigger tab of the SignalTap II window.

Using the Stand-Alone SignalTap II Logic Analyzer

If you want to use only the SignalTap II Logic Analyzer, you can use the stand-alone

graphical user interface version of the SignalTap II Logic Analyzer, quartus_stpw.