SYNTLOG: FSM Benchmarks Evaluation for FPGA

Abstract

We introduce a curated benchmark collection of \num{101} FSM descriptions organized into five size classes (\emph{small}, \emph{medium}, \emph{large}, \emph{huge}, \emph{super-huge}), spanning tens to thousands of states and up to hundreds of inputs and outputs. Using these benchmarks we compare an architecture-independent synthesis tool SYNTLOG against Xilinx Vivado at the synthesis (technology-mapping) level, under six optimization strategies. We compare three post-synthesis parameters: number of LUTs, number of logic levels, and runtime. SYNTLOG in area-driven mode uses substantially fewer LUTs than Vivado's area baseline at every size ($-45\%$ to $-66\%$), and its delay-driven mode is simultaneously shallower in logic depth than Vivado's default synthesis mode. SYNTLOG synthesis includes embedded functional validation. Runtime of SYNTLOG is faster by one to two orders of magnitude than Vivado synthesis. The proposed tool synthesizes and validates every \emph{huge} and \emph{super-huge} circuit in minutes, whereas Vivado fails to terminate on these designs after hours.