Parameterizable Real Number Models for Mixed-Signal Designs Using SystemVerilog

Nowadays, the semiconductor industry directs its attention to mixed-signal System-on-Chip (SoC) applications. Main targets are the creation of accurate and fast mixed-signal SoC designs, composed of both digital and analog components, and the reduction of time to market for this kind of integrated circuits (ICs). In order to bring a mixed-signal SoC faster to the market, higher system-level simulation speed is required, with respect to traditional modeling approaches. Real Number Modelling (RNM) could be an effective solution. In this work, a sigma-delta analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and a digital phase-locked loop (PLL) are implemented as real number models using SystemVerilog. This paper is an extended version of work previously published by the authors. Herein, more accurate and parameterizable models were created, while their validation process is analyzed and achieved using a novel metric for accuracy estimation. The proposed models’ parameterizability enhances the usability of the models to various SoC designs. Aim of this work is to underline the RNM effectiveness provided by SystemVerilog, and exhibit a way to apply RNM for modeling and simulation of widely used analog/mixed-signal (AMS) blocks. The presented real number models were compared to Verilog-A, Verilog-AMS, and transistor-level SPICE models. All tests showed that the proposed real number models based on SystemVerilog demonstrate noteworthy improvement on simulation efficiency, with respect to previous works in the literature, preserving simultaneously sufficient accuracy.