OSCI Debuts Standard for SystemC Analog Mixed-Signal Extensions

Public Review of Draft 1 Standard Open through March 31, 2009

GRENOBLE, France - Dec. 3, 2008 - The Open SystemC Initiative (OSCI), an independent non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing SystemC(tm) as an industry-standard language for electronic system-level (ESL) design, today announced the release of the first draft standard of the SystemC Analog/Mixed-Signal (AMS) extensions here during the IP-Based System Design Conference (IP 08). The AMS draft 1 standard proposes the first definitions for the design and modeling of embedded analog/mixed-signal systems at higher levels of abstraction, such as those found in telecommunication, automotive and imaging sensor applications.

The AMS draft 1 standard is available for download under open-source license at www.systemc.org. The kit includes the AMS draft language reference manual (LRM), the requirements specification, a whitepaper introducing the AMS language constructs, and a first example showing the basic capabilities of the AMS extensions.

Today also marks the beginning of a public review period of the AMS draft 1 standard open through March 31, 2009. The worldwide SystemC community of users, architects, ESL tool developers and AMS IP providers are encouraged to participate and provide feedback using the AMS discussion forum at www.systemc.org/Discussion_Forums/ams_forum/.

Designed for use with IEEE Std. 1666-2005, "Standard SystemC Language Reference Manual," the AMS draft 1 standard proposes new class libraries layered on top of the SystemC standard with focused AMS system-level modeling and simulation capabilities. These dedicated libraries provide features which can be applied in combination with digitally oriented ESL design methods. The AMS draft language reference manual details these new language constructs by proposing predefined modules, interfaces, channels and ports, and introducing new execution semantics for efficient simulation of discrete- and continuous-time behavior.

"This release clearly shows the commitment of OSCI to standardize SystemC extensions for AMS modeling in response to electronic industry needs," said Ken Tallo, OSCI Chairman. "With input from the SystemC community, I am confident we are one step closer in developing an AMS standard that continues to accelerate system-level product development methodologies."

The AMS standard is under development by the OSCI AMS Working Group formed in 2006 with the objective to define a rich set of modeling styles for the design and verification of AMS systems. Different modeling concepts based on data-flow and signal-flow models of computation are proposed, including linear electrical networks to efficiently simulate analog descriptions. The AMS class libraries facilitate system-level design at different levels of abstraction for use cases such as functional modeling, architecture exploration, integration validation and virtual prototyping.

"The AMS extensions will enrich the SystemC language by introducing well-known modeling formalisms used for AMS system-level design," said Martin Barnasconi, Chairman of OSCI's AMS Working Group. "We look forward to interacting with the SystemC community to further strengthen and enhance these extensions."

The AMS Working group will utilize feedback taken from the public review period to produce updates of the AMS standard. OSCI currently plans to present the results of the initial public review in Q2 2009.

About SystemC and OSCI

The Open SystemC Initiative (OSCI) is an independent, not-for-profit association composed of a broad range of organizations dedicated to supporting and advancing SystemC as an open industry standard for system-level modeling, design, and verification. SystemC is a language built in C++ that spans from concept to implementation in hardware and software. For further information about SystemC and OSCI visit www.systemc.org.