Bridging from ESL models to implementation via high-level hardware synthesis

The article describes a methodology that bridges the gap between SystemC transaction-level models (TLMs) that are used for architectural exploration and SystemC cycle-accurate models of hardware that typically follow much later in a design flow, after many sensitive decisions have been made.
The behavior of the cycle-accurate models can be verified in the complete system by comparing it with the reference TLMs. The reference model of the complete system then serves as a testbench for the verification and integration of the cycle-accurate models.

This flow allows designers to evaluate alternative architectures early in a project with low modeling effort, and they can integrate cycle-accurate models later on to progressively replace the TLMs.
Exact timing and performance properties obtained from simulating cycle-accurate models (e.g., power consumption, resource load) are used to back-annotate the reference models. This increases the level of confidence in decisions made when exploring the design space.

The methodology is illustrated via a case study involving a JPEG system, using Mentor Graphics' Catapult Synthesis and CoFluent Design's CoFluent Studio tools to provide a complete ESL flow, from architectural exploration to hardware implementation.The article describes a methodology that bridges the gap between SystemC transaction-level models (TLMs) that are used for architectural exploration and SystemC cycle-accurate models of hardware that typically follow much later in a design flow, after many sensitive decisions have been made.
The behavior of the cycle-accurate models can be verified in the complete system by comparing it with the reference TLMs. The reference model of the complete system then serves as a testbench for the verification and integration of the cycle-accurate models.

This flow allows designers to evaluate alternative architectures early in a project with low modeling effort, and they can integrate cycle-accurate models later on to progressively replace the TLMs.
Exact timing and performance properties obtained from simulating cycle-accurate models (e.g., power consumption, resource load) are used to back-annotate the reference models. This increases the level of confidence in decisions made when exploring the design space.

The methodology is illustrated via a case study involving a JPEG system, using Mentor Graphics' Catapult Synthesis and CoFluent Design's CoFluent Studio tools to provide a complete ESL flow, from architectural exploration to hardware implementation.