HW/SW Co-design of a PCM/PWM converter: a System Level Approach based in the SpecC Methodology

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a system-level HW/SW co-design approach using SpecC methodology for a PCM/PWM converter in a Class-D audio amplifier, enabling early architectural insights and cost-effective solutions.

Contribution

It applies the SpecC methodology to a PCM-to-PWM converter, illustrating a systematic HW/SW partitioning process at the system level for audio applications.

Findings

Effective HW/SW partitioning reduces costs and meets real-time constraints.

System-level simulation provides rapid validation and architectural insights.

Co-design approach improves early-stage decision making for complex systems.

Abstract

We present a case study applying the SpecC methodology within a system-level hardware/software co-design flow to a PCM-to-PWM converter, the core of a Class-D audio amplifier. The converter was modeled and explored with SpecC methodology to derive an HW/SW partition. Using system-level estimates and fast functional simulation, we evaluated mappings that meet real-time constraints while reducing estimated cost of an all-hardware solution and avoiding the expense of a purely software implementation on a high-end processor. Despite the design's moderate complexity, the results underline the value of system-level co-design for early architectural insight, rapid validation, and actionable cost/performance trade-offs. [Original work from 2005; formatting revised in 2025, with no changes to the results.]