VK_NV_partitioned_acceleration_structure(3)

# VK_NV_partitioned_acceleration_structure(3) Manual Page

## Name

VK_NV_partitioned_acceleration_structure - device extension

## Registered Extension Number

571

## Revision

1

## Ratification Status

Not ratified

## Extension and Version Dependencies

VK_KHR_acceleration_structure

## Contact

- Vikram Kushwaha [GitHub]vkushwaha

## Extension Proposal

VK_NV_partitioned_acceleration_structure

## Other Extension Metadata

Last Modified Date

  2025-01-09

Contributors

  - Vikram Kushwaha, NVIDIA

  - Eric Werness, NVIDIA

  - Christoph Kubisch, NVIDIA

  - Jan Schmid, NVIDIA

  - Pyarelal Knowles, NVIDIA

## Description

With an increase in scene complexity and expansive game worlds, the number of instances has surged in ray tracing over the last few years. The current Top Level Acceleration Structure (TLAS) API necessitates a full rebuild of the entire data structure even when only a few instances are modified.

This extension introduces Partitioned Top Level Acceleration Structures (PTLAS) as an alternative to the existing TLAS. PTLAS enables the efficient reuse of previously constructed parts of the acceleration structure, resulting in much faster build times and supporting a higher number of instances.

## New Commands

- vkCmdBuildPartitionedAccelerationStructuresNV

- vkGetPartitionedAccelerationStructuresBuildSizesNV

## New Structures

- VkBuildPartitionedAccelerationStructureIndirectCommandNV

- VkBuildPartitionedAccelerationStructureInfoNV

- VkPartitionedAccelerationStructureInstancesInputNV

- VkPartitionedAccelerationStructureUpdateInstanceDataNV

- VkPartitionedAccelerationStructureWriteInstanceDataNV

- VkPartitionedAccelerationStructureWritePartitionTranslationDataNV

- Extending VkPartitionedAccelerationStructureInstancesInputNV:

  - VkPartitionedAccelerationStructureFlagsNV

- Extending VkPhysicalDeviceFeatures2, VkDeviceCreateInfo:

  - VkPhysicalDevicePartitionedAccelerationStructureFeaturesNV

- Extending VkPhysicalDeviceProperties2:

  - VkPhysicalDevicePartitionedAccelerationStructurePropertiesNV

- Extending VkWriteDescriptorSet:

  - VkWriteDescriptorSetPartitionedAccelerationStructureNV

## New Enums

- VkPartitionedAccelerationStructureInstanceFlagBitsNV

- VkPartitionedAccelerationStructureOpTypeNV

## New Bitmasks

- VkPartitionedAccelerationStructureInstanceFlagsNV

## New Enum Constants

- `VK_NV_PARTITIONED_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_EXTENSION_NAME`

- `VK_NV_PARTITIONED_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_SPEC_VERSION`

- VK_PARTITIONED_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_PARTITION_INDEX_GLOBAL_NV

- Extending VkDescriptorType:

  - VK_DESCRIPTOR_TYPE_PARTITIONED_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_NV

- Extending VkStructureType:

  - VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_BUILD_PARTITIONED_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_INFO_NV

  - VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PARTITIONED_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_FLAGS_NV

  - VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PARTITIONED_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_INSTANCES_INPUT_NV

  - VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_PARTITIONED_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_FEATURES_NV

  - VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_PHYSICAL_DEVICE_PARTITIONED_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_PROPERTIES_NV

  - VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_WRITE_DESCRIPTOR_SET_PARTITIONED_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_NV

## Version History

- Revision 1, 2025-01-09 (Vikram Kushwaha)

  - Initial draft

## See Also

No cross-references are available

## Document Notes

For more information, see the Vulkan Specification.

This page is a generated document. Fixes and changes should be made to the generator scripts, not directly.

## Copyright

Copyright 2014-2026 The Khronos Group Inc.

SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0