In this paper, we present a rapid prototyping environment for mixed signal systems. The environment consists of programmable mixed signal hardware together with a set of integrated CAD tools to enable fast prototyping of mixed signal designs from high-level specifications. The prototyping hardware comprises of field-programmable analog arrays and field-programmable gate arrays on which the analog and digital sections of the design are respectively implemented. Field-programmable interconnect routes signals between multiple devices. A bank of data converters constitutes the interface between the analog and digital parts. Design tools are required to map the given design onto the prototyping hardware. The high-level design specification is first compiled into an intermediate format suitable for synthesis. Following this, the design is partitioned into analog and digital sections. The analog and digital subsystems are synthesized for the target FPAA and FPGA devices respectively. Configuration bitstreams are generated and downloaded on to the respective devices.

Date Published: 26 August 1999
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 3844, Reconfigurable Technology: FPGAs for Computing and Applications, (26 August 1999); doi: 10.1117/12.359542

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3844:
Reconfigurable Technology: FPGAs for Computing and Applications
John Schewel; Peter M. Athanas; Steven A. Guccione; Stefan Ludwig; John T. McHenry, Editor(s)