Analog, Mixed-Signal Standard or Verilog HDL Approved by OVI Organization

Open Verilog International (OVI), an EDA industry organization that promotes the use and evolution of the Verilog hardware description language (HDL), today announced that OVI has approved version 2.0 of its analog and mixed-signal (AMS) standard Verilog-AMS. OVI now plans to pursue IEEE standardization for Verilog-AMS.

The Verilog-AMS standard benefits the electronics community by extending the IEEE 1364 Verilog HDL standard for digital designs to analog and mixed-signal design applications. Dennis Brophy, OVI chair, noted, "By extending the Verilog HDL language, the Verilog-AMS standard addresses the demanding design and verification challenges of next generation system chip designs where mixed analog and digital blocks are commonplace."

The new version of the Verilog-AMS standard adds a Verilog Procedural Interface (VPI). The VPI provides routines that allow Verilog-AMS product users to access information contained in a Verilog-AMS design and gives access to facilities to interact dynamically with Verilog-AMS compliant applications. Uses of the VPI interface includes delay calculators and annotators and connections to a Verilog-AMS compliant application with other applications like customized debug tools.

Verilog-AMS supports automatic interface insertion between mixed-signal ports and signals to enable efficient plug-and-play in the top-down design of large ICs. OVI's Verilog-AMS Technical Subcommittee (TSC), chaired by Ira Miller, Senior Member of the Technical Staff, Motorola (Chandler, AZ), started with contributions from Cadence Design Systems and from committee member companies and through a process of technical subcommittee and general committee reviews, created the Verilog-AMS Language Reference Manual (LRM). This LRM will be submitted as a basis to the IEEE standards committee.

Verilog-AMS was first approved as an OVI standard in 1998. Verilog-A became an OVI standard in 1996. The companies that support, plan to support or use the Verilog-AMS standard include: Antrim, Avant!, Cadence Design Systems, Mentor Graphics, Motorola and Synopsys. More information about OVI's Verilog-AMS effort is at www.ovi.org.

Why Verilog-AMS Is Important:
Verilog-AMS is based on fundamental principles of mathematics and physics, which allow for the description of systems composed of mechanical, electromagnetic, and electrical sub-systems. It extends the IEEE-1364 Verilog digital HDL standard for electronic design and improves system-on-chip design by enabling top-down design methodology to be used for analog and mixed-domain modeling.

Vassilios Gerousis, Chair of the OVI Technical Subcommittee and Design System Architect at Infineon, said, "Verilog-AMS gives designers a language that can be used to model and verify a mixed-domain system. It allows systems such as a car's entire brake system with its mechanical, electrical and digital controls, as well as motors and analog drives to be modeled and simulated." Gerousis noted, "The VPI for Verilog-AMS allow users and EDA tool suppliers and developers to interface directly to any model or design, as well as simulation results."

About OVI and Verilog HDL
OVI's members include electronic systems companies, EDA tool vendors, semiconductor companies, universities and individuals. OVI's member companies include: Aldec, Analogy, Antrim, Avant!, Cadence Design Systems, Co-Design, Frequency, LavaLogic ,Mentor Graphics/Model Technology, Motorola, National Semiconductor, Sun Microsystems and Synopsys.

OVI, founded in 1990, supports the IEEE 1364 standard for Verilog HDL and related standards for digital, analog and mixed-signal design representations. OVI sponsors standards development efforts for next generation design methodologies. These include support of technical groups involved with development of standards for the Verilog Register Transfer-level (RTL) subset, Design Constraints, IEEE 1481 Delay and Power Calculation System (DPCS), Formal Verification, Physical Design Libraries, Architectural language and Advanced Library Format (ALF).

OVI also co-announced with VHDL International (VI) plans to unite the organizations.

Upcoming Conferences
International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microcircuits March 27 - 29 San Diego http://www.cr.org/MSM2000/

Third IEEEE International Caracas Conference on Devices, Circuits and Systems March 15 -17 Cancun, Mexico http://pancho.labc.usb.ve/prm2000

OVI, 15466 Los Gatos Blvd., Suite 109-071, Los Gatos, CA 95032. Phone: 408-358-9510, FAX: 408-358-3910, Email: info@ovi.org