Modeling and Implementation of DSP FPGA Solutions

Recent developments in the simulation capabilities of high level mathematical modeling tools have opened exciting new design flow possibilities. System level support for bit true modeling enables a designer to use a single environment to create floating and fixedpoint models, and to make scaling and rounding decisions early in the design process. At the same time, FPGA vendors have expanded commercial IP offerings to incorporate higher level DSP functions. Together, these technologies enable a new flow for data path design that includes design iterations at the system level. In the past, DSP FPGA design required the combined efforts of a DSP engineer and a hardware engineer familiar with HDL or schematic based design. In this workshop we present a new method to derive an HDL netlist for a data path directly from a system level tool. The steps include construction of an ideal mathematical model, investigation of implementation effects, test-bench creation, and hardware netlist generation. Traditional HDL design methods are then used to complete the design implementation. These concepts are illustrated through examples of digital filter realizations, Discrete Wavelet Transforms (DWT), and digital communications applications. 1 Robert D. Turney ([email protected]) and Chris Dick ([email protected]) are Senior Systems Engineers in the CORE Solutions Group, Xilinx Inc., San Jose CA, USA 2 David B. Parlour ([email protected]) is a Principal Engineer in Xilinx Labs, Xilinx Inc. 3 James Hwang ([email protected]) is a Staff Engineer at Xilinx Inc., San Jose CA, USA