VHDL-AMS is a derivative of the
hardware description language
In computer engineering, a hardware description language (HDL) is a specialized computer language used to describe the structure and behavior of electronic circuits, usually to design application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and to progra ...
VHDL
VHDL (Very High Speed Integrated Circuit Program, VHSIC Hardware Description Language) is a hardware description language that can model the behavior and structure of Digital electronics, digital systems at multiple levels of abstraction, ran ...
(IEEE 1076-2002). It includes analog and mixed-signal extensions (AMS) in order to define the behavior of analog and mixed-signal systems (IEEE 1076.1-2017).
The VHDL-AMS standard was created with the intent of enabling designers of analog and mixed signal systems and integrated circuits to create and use modules that encapsulate high-level behavioral descriptions as well as structural descriptions of systems and components.
[Christen E., Bakalar K.,"VHDL-AMS-a hardware description language for analog and mixed-signal applications", Circuits and Systems II: Analog and Digital Signal Processing, IEEE Transactions on ee also Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs, IEEE Transactions onVolume 46, Issue 10, Oct. 1999, pp. 1263 - 1272.]
VHDL-AMS is an industry standard modeling language for mixed signal circuits. It provides both continuous-time and event-driven modeling semantics, and so is suitable for analog, digital, and mixed analog/digital circuits. It is particularly well suited for verification of very complex analog, mixed-signal and
radio frequency
Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the u ...
integrated circuits.
Code example
In VHDL-AMS, a design consists at a minimum of an ''entity'' which describes the interface and an ''architecture'' which contains the actual implementation. In addition, most designs import library modules. Some designs also contain multiple architectures and ''configurations''.
A simple ideal
diode
A diode is a two-Terminal (electronics), terminal electronic component that conducts electric current primarily in One-way traffic, one direction (asymmetric electrical conductance, conductance). It has low (ideally zero) Electrical resistance ...
in VHDL-AMS would look something like this:
library IEEE;
use IEEE.math_real.all;
use IEEE.electrical_systems.all;
-- this is the entity
entity DIODE is
generic (iss : current := 1.0e-14);
port (terminal anode, cathode : electrical);
end entity DIODE;
architecture IDEAL of DIODE is
quantity v across i through anode to cathode;
constant vt : voltage := 0.0258;
begin
i iss * (exp(v/vt) - 1.0);
end architecture IDEAL;
VHDL-AMS Simulators
*
ANSYS Simplorer
*
Cadence Virtuoso AMS Designer
*
Dolphin Integration SMASH
*
Mentor Graphics
Mentor Graphics Corporation was a US-based electronic design automation (EDA) multinational corporation for electrical engineering and electronics, headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon. Founded in 1981, the company distributed products that ass ...
Questa ADMS
* Mentor Graphics SystemVision
*
Synopsys
Synopsys, Inc. is an American electronic design automation (EDA) company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that focuses on silicon design and verification, silicon intellectual property and software security and quality. Synopsys sup ...
SaberRD
References
See also
*
Verilog-AMS, the Analog and Mixed Signal derivative of the
Verilog
Verilog, standardized as IEEE 1364, is a hardware description language (HDL) used to model electronic systems. It is most commonly used in the design and verification of digital circuits, with the highest level of abstraction being at the re ...
hardware description language
*
VHDL
VHDL (Very High Speed Integrated Circuit Program, VHSIC Hardware Description Language) is a hardware description language that can model the behavior and structure of Digital electronics, digital systems at multiple levels of abstraction, ran ...
*
Electronic design automation
Electronic design automation (EDA), also referred to as electronic computer-aided design (ECAD), is a category of software tools for designing Electronics, electronic systems such as integrated circuits and printed circuit boards. The tools wo ...
*
Very-large-scale integration
*
Modelica, a language for modeling physical systems
{{Programmable Logic
Hardware description languages