A Compositional Framework for Hardware/Software Co-Design

We describe a compositional framework, together with its supporting toolset, for hardware/software co-design. Our framework is an integration of a formal approach within a traditional design flow. The formal approach is based on Interval Temporal Logic and its executable subset, Tempura. Refinement is the key element in our framework because it will derivefrom a single formal specification of the system the software and hardware parts of the implementation, while preserving all properties of the system specification. During refinement simulation is used to choose the appropriate refinement rules, which are applied automatically in the HOL system. The framework is illustrated with two case studies. The work presented is part of a UK collaborative research project between the Software Technology Research Laboratory at the De Montfort University and the Oxford University Computing Laboratory.     

软硬件协同设计语言System C在SoC设计中的应用

软硬件协同设计是未来VLSI设计的发展趋势.作为新的系统级VLSI设计标准,System C是一种通过类对象扩展的基于C/C++建模平台,支持系统级软硬件协同设计、仿真和验证.文章讨论了SystemC复杂芯片设计中的设计流程、设计优势,并给出具体设计实例.     

数模混合高速集成电路封装基板协同设计与验证

介绍了数模混合高速集成电路(IC)封装的特性以及该类封装协同设计的一般分析方法.合理有效的基板设计是实现可靠封装的重要保障,基于物理互连设计与电设计协同开展的思路,采用Cadence APD工具以及三维电磁场仿真工具实现了特定数模混合高速集成电路(一款探测器读出电路)的封装设计与仿真论证,芯片封装后组装测试,探测器系统性能良好,封装设计达到预期目标.封装电仿真主要包含:封装信号传输通道S参数提取、电源/地网络评估,探测器读出芯片封装体互连通道设计能满足信号带宽为350 MHz(或者信号上升时间大于1 ns)的高速信号的传输.封装基板布线设计与基板电设计协同分析是提高数模混合高速集成电路封装设计效率的有效途径.     

一种基于Zynq-7000+AD9361的通用调制平台设计

针对一般调制平台互联性差、灵活性差、复用性差等问题,采用软硬件协同设计和部分动态可重配置等技术,设计了一种基于Zynq-7000和AD9361的通用调制平台。采用16APSK和QPSK的调制方式对通用调制平台的设计进行验证,其中平方根升余弦成形滤波器采用查找表形式的多相滤波器结构实现,该实现方法只用到加法运算。测试结果表明,在不同Zynq-7000开发板和不同调制方式下,替换部分硬件功能模块和修改软件配置,平台均能正常工作。与传统调制平台相比,本平台的设计以及功能实现具有灵活性强、复用性高等特点,具有广阔应用前景。     

全兼容IEEE1149.1的MIPS CPU CORE可测性设计

提出了一种采用软硬件协同工作的方式来实现MIPSCPUC：ORE的可测性设计(DFT)方案。硬件全兼容IEEE1149．1(JTAG)标准，支持单步、断点(6个)，内部关键寄存器的查看，并具有可扩充性；软件采用GUI编程开发，达到可视化DEBUG。本设计对于减少DPU开发的测试成本，提高开发效率，以及CPU测试DFT策略的经验积累，都有着一定的意义。     

基于资源受限的软硬件划分方法

本文提出了一种在硬件资源受限的情况下进行软硬件划分的一种方法。以贪婪算法(greedy)作为划分的核心，并对所抽取的划分图进行结点的预先分类，减小贪婪算法探索的设计空间，加速算法的执行。通过反复地迭代，获得了最终的软硬件划分选择。实验证明，这种软硬件划分的方法具有高效率及高面积利用率的特点。     

Robustness comparison of DG FinFETs with symmetric, asymmetric, tied and independent gate options with circuit co-design for ultra low power subthreshold logic

Double gate FinFETs are shown to be better candidates for subthreshold logic design than equivalent bulk devices. However it is not so clear which configuration of DG FinFETs will be more optimal for subthreshold logic. In this paper, we compare the different device and circuit level performance metrics of DG FinFETs with symmetric, asymmetric, tied and independent gate options for subthreshold logic. We observe that energy delay product (EDP) shows a better subthreshold performance metric than power delay product (PDP) and it is observed that the tied gate symmetric option has ≈78% lower EDP value than that of independent gate option for subthreshold logic. The asymmetry in back gate oxide thickness adds to further reduction in EDP for tied gate and has no significant effect on independent gate option. The robustness (measured in terms of % variation in device/circuit performance metrics for a ±10% variation in design parameters) of DG FinFETs with various options has also been investigated in presence of different design parameter variations such as silicon body thickness, channel length, threshold voltage, supply voltage and temperature, etc. Independent gate option has been seen to be more robust (≈40% less) than that of tied gate option for subthreshold logic. Comparison of logic families for subthreshold regime with DG FinFET options shows that for tied gate option, sub-CMOS, sub-Domino and sub-DCVSL have almost similar and better energy consumption and robustness characteristics with respect to PVT variations than other families.     

一种多处理器原型及其系统芯片设计方法

 随着嵌入式应用快速发展,系统芯片(SoC)设计日趋复杂.高效可靠的设计多处理器系统芯片逐渐成为一个巨大挑战.本文提出一种多处理器原型及其SoC设计方法,将多处理器及其通信统一建模于一个多层次、灵活和可配的软硬件原型中,通过分层次、从高层抽象到底层实现逐步深入的方法解决软硬件接口验证问题和完善软硬件架构.H.264解码实验证明多处理器原型功能可行性和物理可实现性.基于该原型的多层次细化方法可有效确保SoC软硬件设计的正确性,并有助于软硬件结构协同设计优化.     

对SoC芯片全面验证的仿真结构的研究

研究构成仿真环境的策略及软硬件协同验证环境的接口实现,介绍了用于功能和性能验证的软件伪随机测试生成方法.该方法对SoC和复杂的板机系统进行可测性设计的优化验证,大大降低测试成本,缩短了系统开发周期.     

基于SoC的DRM接收机ASIC设计

DRM是新一代的数字广播体制。针对DRM接收机的ASIC设计,提出了一种采用软硬件协同设计的SoC结构,给出了片上处理单元说明,SoC设计中的软硬件划分、协同设计和验证方法。最后给出了DRM接收机的性能。