SystemC Analog/Mixed-signal Working Group (AMSWG)

Charter

The SystemC AMS Working Group is responsible for the standardization of the SystemC AMS extensions, defining and developing the language, methodology and class libraries for analog, mixed-signal and RF modeling in SystemC.

Chair: Martin Barnasconi, NXP Semiconductors
Vice-Chair: Dr. Christoph Grimm, Vienna University of Technology

Scope

This group is responsible for the standardization of the SystemC AMS extensions by defining and developing the language, methodology and class libraries for analog, mixed-signal and RF modeling in SystemC. These AMS extensions provide a uniform SystemC-based modeling language that can be used in combination with digitally-oriented ESL design methods, supporting a design refinement methodology for functional modeling, architecture exploration, and virtual prototyping of AMS systems. The AMS 1.0 standard was released in March 2010 and includes the requirements specifications, AMS language reference manual (LRM), and a user's guide. The standard introduces new execution semantics for efficient simulation of discrete and continuous time to support non-conservative and conservative behavioral modeling approaches.

Current developments

Since the introduction of the SystemC AMS 1.0 standard, the WG has experienced a rapid adoption of the standard in industrial mixed-signal system-level design methodologies. The AMS WG is now focused on further advancing the AMS standard by defining and implementing new features as addressed in the SystemC AMS requirements specification. As a result, the AMS working group released the AMS 2.0 draft standard, which was made available for public review until April 30, 2012, including new semantics and language constructs to support dynamic and reactive modeling concepts.

Background

In March 2010, OSCI released the AMS 1.0 Standard, the first modeling language targeting system-level design and verification to describe analog/mixed-signal behavior as natural extension to existing SystemC-based design methodologies. AMS 1.0 is available for download under open-source license and includes the requirements specifications, AMS language reference manual (LRM), and a user's guide. Read the press release.

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Resources

Download SystemC AMS 1.0 standard, including Language Reference Manual, User's Guide, and requirements specification.
Download SystemC AMS 2.0 draft standard, including the updated Language Reference Manual.
Frequently Asked Questions
SystemC AMS website: www.systemc-ams.org
Publications:
- Whitepaper 2011: Advancing the SystemC Analog/Mixed-Signal (AMS) Extensions - Introducing Dynamic Timed Data Flow by SystemC AMS Working Group members Martin Barnasconi, Karsten Einwich, Christoph Grimm, Torsten Maehne, and Alain Vachoux
- Whitepaper 2010: SystemC AMS Extensions: Solving the Need for Speed by SystemC AMS Working Group Chairman Martin Barnasconi
- Viewpoint 2009: Analog/Mixed-Signal (AMS) extensions for SystemC by SystemC AMS Working Group Chairman Martin Barnasconi
- For additional publications, go to www.systemc-ams.org and follow the Publications menu
SystemC User Group presentations or videos:
- Modeling Communication Systems Using the SystemC AMS Building Block Library,
  Jiong Ou, Institute of Computer Technology, Vienna University of Technology
- SystemC-AMS for the Design of Complex Analog/Mixed-signal SoCs, Karsten Einwich, Fraunhofer IIS/EAS Dresden, German
- SystemC Analog and Mixed Signal Library: What's It All About?, Martin Barnasconi, Chairman AMS Working Group, NXP Semiconductor, The Netherlands
The SystemC AMS Working Group organized the following public events in the past
- Workshop on Using the Power of the SystemC AMS Extensions, DAC, June 2011
- SystemC AMS Day, May 2011: Presentations, posters, and photos from SystemC AMS Day, Industry adoption of the SystemC AMS Standard
- Special session on SystemC AMS at PATMOS, September 2010
- SystemC for Holistic System Design with Digital Hardware, Analog Hardware, DAC, June 2010
- Application of the SystemC AMS standard at DATE, March 2010
- SystemC AMS Tutorial at PATMOS, September 2009
- SystemC AMS Tutorial at DATE, March 2008
- Interactive Session at DATE 2008: "Where Two Worlds Meet: SystemC AMS and TLM Interaction", March 2008
- Interaction of Analog/Mixed-Signal Systems and Transaction Level Modeling, January 2008, Vienna
- Workshop on C/C++-Based Modelling of Embedded Mixed-Signal Systems, June 2007, Dresden