Mapping multirate dataflow to complex RT level hardware models

Abstract

The design of digital signal processing systems typically consists of an algorithm development phase carried out at a behavioral level and the selection of an efficient hardware architecture for implementation. In order to speed up the joint optimization of algorithms and architectures, a fast path to implementation must be provided. This can be achieved efficiently by directly mapping the data flow specification of the system to an RTL target architecture by means of HDL code generation. For algorithm design, communication systems are most easily modeled using multirate data flow graphs in which no notion of time is maintained. HDL code generation introduces a cycle based timing model and maps the data flow models to RTL implementations, which are usually taken from a library. Due to the increase in ASIC design complexity, these building blocks reach a high level of functionality and have complex interfacing properties. Therefore, it becomes necessary to generate additional interfacing and controlling hardware to synthesize an operable system. In this paper, we present a new approach of mapping multirate dataflow graphs to complex RTL hardware models and derive algorithms to synthesize these high-level RTL building blocks into a complete operable system.