A backplane approach for cosimulation in high-level system specification environments

The design of microelectronic systems including hardware and software for open-loop and closed-loop control requires the combination of expertise from different domains. However, no integrated approach to the specification and design nor to the analysis and simulation of the overall system is available. The design of such complex and heterogeneous systems mandates a systematic, computer aided approach to requirements definition, specification and design as well as to the verification and validation of the results. A simulation backplane concept is presented for parallel mixed-mode cosimulation using a standardized interface. Synchronization mechanisms are developed and used that allow an efficient concurrent cosimulation.