Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guide: Debug Tools

ID 683552
Date 9/24/2018
Public
Document Table of Contents

5.3.7. Select the Buffer Acquisition Mode

When you specify how the logic analyzer organizes the captured data buffer, you can potentially reduce the amount of memory that Signal Tap requires for data acquisition.

There are two types of acquisition buffer within the Signal Tap Logic Analyzer—a non-segmented (or circular) buffer and a segmented buffer.

  • With a non-segmented buffer, the Signal Tap Logic Analyzer treats entire memory space as a single FIFO, continuously filling the buffer until the logic analyzer reaches a defined set of trigger conditions.
  • With a segmented buffer, the memory space is split into separate buffers. Each buffer acts as a separate FIFO with its own set of trigger conditions, and behaves as a non-segmented buffer. Only a single buffer is active during an acquisition. The Signal Tap Logic Analyzer advances to the next segment after the trigger condition or conditions for the active segment has been reached.

When using a non-segmented buffer, you can use the storage qualification feature to determine which samples are written into the acquisition buffer. Both the segmented buffers and the non-segmented buffer with the storage qualification feature help you maximize the use of the available memory space.

Figure 42. Buffer Type Comparison in the Signal Tap Logic AnalyzerThe figure illustrates the differences between the two buffer types.

Both non-segmented and segmented buffers can use a preset trigger position (Pre-Trigger, Center Trigger, Post-Trigger). Alternatively, you can define a custom trigger position using the State-Based Triggering tab. Refer to Specify Trigger Position for more details.