Low Power Design - UPF
Understand and Apply UPF for Practical Low Power Digital Design
Instructor: EDA Academy
CourseAug 05, 2026All LevelEnglish
This course explains how power intent is modeled, applied, and debugged using Unified Power Format. It focuses on practical understanding of power domains, supply networks, power states, and low power strategies, helping engineers confidently use UPF in real low power design and verification flows.
5.0
0students
This offering includes
- 8 modules
- 43 lectures
- Access on mobile and computer
- Certificate of completion
- 5.3 hours on-demand video
- 707.1 KB downloadable content
- 88 Quiz questions
What you'll learn
Analyze UPF standard evolution and foundational low power concepts
Understand power modeling concepts and power supply networks in UPF
Describe UPF implementation flow for MSV and PSO designs
Identify UPF low power strategy rules and application methods
Apply hierarchical UPF modeling for soft and hard IP designs
Resolve complex UPF corner cases using tool-based analysis
Recognize and evaluate non-standard coding practices in UPF
Analyze UPF standard evolution and foundational low power concepts
Understand power modeling concepts and power supply networks in UPF
Describe UPF implementation flow for MSV and PSO designs
Identify UPF low power strategy rules and application methods
Apply hierarchical UPF modeling for soft and hard IP designs
Resolve complex UPF corner cases using tool-based analysis
Recognize and evaluate non-standard coding practices in UPF
Who is this course for
Digital design engineers working on multi-power-domain SoC designs
Low power engineers responsible for UPF-based power intent modeling
Verification engineers validating low power behavior and power states
Physical design engineers interacting with power intent constraints
Engineers debugging power intent issues reported by EDA tools
SoC architects defining power domains and operating modes
IP integration engineers handling soft IP and hard IP power models
Engineers migrating designs across different UPF versions
ASIC engineers supporting low power implementation flows
Engineers preparing for complex low power SoC projects
Digital design engineers working on multi-power-domain SoC designs
Low power engineers responsible for UPF-based power intent modeling
Verification engineers validating low power behavior and power states
Physical design engineers interacting with power intent constraints
Engineers debugging power intent issues reported by EDA tools
SoC architects defining power domains and operating modes
IP integration engineers handling soft IP and hard IP power models
Engineers migrating designs across different UPF versions
ASIC engineers supporting low power implementation flows
Engineers preparing for complex low power SoC projects
Requirements
Basic understanding of synchronous digital circuit design and signal behavior
Experience with RTL design in Verilog or VHDL for digital systems
Ability to read and interpret power intent or design specifications
Experience using EDA tools for synthesis, implementation, or verification
Motivation to improve debugging and analysis skills for low-power designs
Basic understanding of synchronous digital circuit design and signal behavior
Experience with RTL design in Verilog or VHDL for digital systems
Ability to read and interpret power intent or design specifications
Experience using EDA tools for synthesis, implementation, or verification
Motivation to improve debugging and analysis skills for low-power designs
Description
Unified Power Format, standardized as IEEE 1801, defines how power intent is described independently from functional logic in modern digital systems. As power constraints become a primary design driver, clear and consistent power intent modeling is essential for predictability, reuse, and tool interoperability. UPF provides a structured way to describe how power is supplied, controlled, and constrained across complex designs with multiple operating modes.
Power intent modeling relies on a clear understanding of power domains, supply networks, power states, and domain interfaces. These elements describe where power is applied, how it flows, and under what conditions logic is allowed to operate. Accurate modeling of supply ports, supply nets, supply sets, and power switches enables designers to represent real operating conditions without embedding power assumptions into the functional design. This separation improves scalability and supports large system integration.
Low power behavior depends on well-defined strategies for isolation, retention, and level shifting. These strategies control signal behavior when power domains change state and ensure data integrity across operating modes. Correct handling of boundary conditions, signal crossings, and default behaviors is critical to avoid functional errors and power-related violations. Strategy precedence, filtering rules, and placement control determine how tools apply these mechanisms during implementation.
Hierarchical power intent modeling supports reuse across soft IP and hard IP by allowing power information to be defined at the appropriate abstraction level. Binding of supply ports and boundary ports across hierarchy levels ensures consistent power connectivity. Integration with Liberty-based power models allows accurate representation of hard macros and physical constraints while maintaining logical intent consistency.
Robust power intent descriptions must also address complex scenarios found in real designs. Boundary ports, floating signals, bi-directional connections, virtual power domains, and netlist inconsistencies introduce corner cases that require careful analysis. Non-standard coding practices and tool-specific behavior further increase complexity. A strong understanding of IEEE 1801 rules and tool interpretation enables reliable debugging, predictable results, and maintainable power intent descriptions across design, implementation, and verification flows.
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