SystemC-A : analogue and mixed-signal language for high level system design
SystemC-A : analogue and mixed-signal language for high level system design
In the light of the growing popularity of mixed, analogue and digital ASICs and System on Chip, several high level hardware description languages (HDLs), such as VHDL and Verilog, have recently been extended to provide analogue and mixed-signal (AMS) modelling capabilities. SystemC is a new language added recently to the existing HDLs used by the digital electronic design community. This research has developed a new methodology that enables the extension of SystemC to the analogue domain and allows simulations of mixed-signal and mixed-domain systems on arbitrary levels of abstraction. The developed AMS extension is named SystemC-A and complies with SystemC semantics. In many respects, SystemC-A is more powerful than many existing HDLs.
The contributions of this research can be summarised as follows: Firstly, new syntax elements and classes that extend SystemC to the analogue domain have been developed. The new language construct elements support analogue system variables, analogue components and user defined equations. In addition to the various abstraction levels provided by SystemC, the developed extension provides extra abstraction levels which are specific to analogue systems. A numerically efficient analogue kernel has been developed and implemented in which a novel equation formulation method for nonlinear algebraic and differential equations (DAEs) is developed.
Secondly, a novel mixed-signal synchronisation method to integrate the analogue kernel with the digital one has been developed. The implementation of the lock-step synchronisation method provides an efficient handling of extremely small and zero time step sizes and enables analysis with arbitrary accuracy. Support for digital-analogue interfaces has been provided for easy and smooth integration of digital and analogue parts.
Finally, SystemC-A is validated and optimised using a suite of numerically difficult analogue, mixed-signal, and mixed-domain examples. Their complexity ranges from simple sets of DAEs to highly complex mixed-signal systems, which are difficult to handle by existing HDLs. SystemC-A supports different types of continuous-time analysis suitable for mixed-signal modelling. For example, it supports large-signal time domain noise analysis, which is traditionally difficult to implement in a mixed-signal context.
University of Southampton
Al-Junaid, Hessa Jassim
5c14d065-c25f-4724-942c-209d0d8a2154
2006
Al-Junaid, Hessa Jassim
5c14d065-c25f-4724-942c-209d0d8a2154
Al-Junaid, Hessa Jassim
(2006)
SystemC-A : analogue and mixed-signal language for high level system design.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
In the light of the growing popularity of mixed, analogue and digital ASICs and System on Chip, several high level hardware description languages (HDLs), such as VHDL and Verilog, have recently been extended to provide analogue and mixed-signal (AMS) modelling capabilities. SystemC is a new language added recently to the existing HDLs used by the digital electronic design community. This research has developed a new methodology that enables the extension of SystemC to the analogue domain and allows simulations of mixed-signal and mixed-domain systems on arbitrary levels of abstraction. The developed AMS extension is named SystemC-A and complies with SystemC semantics. In many respects, SystemC-A is more powerful than many existing HDLs.
The contributions of this research can be summarised as follows: Firstly, new syntax elements and classes that extend SystemC to the analogue domain have been developed. The new language construct elements support analogue system variables, analogue components and user defined equations. In addition to the various abstraction levels provided by SystemC, the developed extension provides extra abstraction levels which are specific to analogue systems. A numerically efficient analogue kernel has been developed and implemented in which a novel equation formulation method for nonlinear algebraic and differential equations (DAEs) is developed.
Secondly, a novel mixed-signal synchronisation method to integrate the analogue kernel with the digital one has been developed. The implementation of the lock-step synchronisation method provides an efficient handling of extremely small and zero time step sizes and enables analysis with arbitrary accuracy. Support for digital-analogue interfaces has been provided for easy and smooth integration of digital and analogue parts.
Finally, SystemC-A is validated and optimised using a suite of numerically difficult analogue, mixed-signal, and mixed-domain examples. Their complexity ranges from simple sets of DAEs to highly complex mixed-signal systems, which are difficult to handle by existing HDLs. SystemC-A supports different types of continuous-time analysis suitable for mixed-signal modelling. For example, it supports large-signal time domain noise analysis, which is traditionally difficult to implement in a mixed-signal context.
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Published date: 2006
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Local EPrints ID: 465861
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/465861
PURE UUID: f0a0b87f-f95d-4a2a-be03-5cf1ae787a32
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 03:19
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 20:24
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Author:
Hessa Jassim Al-Junaid
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