True event-driven simulation of analog/mixed-signal behaviors in SystemVerilog: A decision-feedback equalizing (DFE) receiver example

Abstract

This paper presents a true event-driven simulation methodology for analog/mixed signal systems. To avoid generation of new output events without an input event, analog waveforms are expressed as a set of parameter values for an analytical basis function, c·t <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">m-1</sup> e <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-at</sup> ·u(t). Also, the s-domain analysis enables an algebraic computation of the output event without involving timestep integration. The proposed methodology implemented in SystemVerilog is demonstrated with a decision-feedback equalizer (DFE) example. The experimental results show that both the speed and accuracy of the simulation depend very weakly on the time step resolution, supporting that a true event-driven simulation is realized.