For more information about this project, visit this page.

The code is available to download on github. To download using git just run:

git clone https://github.com/americodias/sca_pll.git

This simulator can be compiled for macOS, Linux and Windows. However the following requirements need to be satisfied:

• C++ compiler compatible with the C++14 standard.
• SystemC Library 2.3.2 or greater
• SystemC-AMS Library 2.1 or greater

There are several tutorials available to compile SystemC libraries on the following operating systems:

• Linux
• macOS
• Windows (gcc)
• Windows (Visual Studio)

If you need to adjust the gcc version to be used (for instance on macOS) use the following commands:

export CXX=g++-7
export LD=g++-7

If needed adjust the following lines in the Makefile to adapt to your case:

SYSTEMC_DIR=/usr/local/systemc-2.3.2
SYSTEMC_AMS_DIR=/usr/local/systemc-ams-2.1

and then write

make

If no errors occurs the binary is available in the bin folder.

Open the file vstd\pll.sln and then go to Project > Properties > C/C++ > General > Additional Include Directories and correct the paths for SystemC and SystemC-AMS.

Do the same for the library folder on Project > Properties > Linker > General > Additional Library Directories.

Then Build > Build solution to compile.

Once the program is successfully compiled, calling it with the --help option will return something like:

(SystemC AMS Copyright notice)

SystemC-AMS PLL simulator 1.0
Usage:
  pll.exe [OPTION...]

  -c, --config arg  Configuration file (default: options.json)
  -f, --format arg  Output file format (vcd or csv) (default: vcd)
  -h, --help        Print help (default: false)

Most of the design parameters mentioned in section 2 can be defined using a configuration file in json format. The program will look for a configuration file called option.json, but other names might be used when activating the --config option.

The available parameters are:

• System Level:
  • vdd: Supply voltage
  • vcm: Common mode voltage (dc offset for all ac signals)
  • fref: Reference clock frequency
  • tstep: Simulation time-step
  • tsim: Simulation time
• Charge Pump:
  • current_up: Charging current when the PMOS is saturated.
  • current_dn: Discharging current when the NMOS is saturated.
  • current_leak: Leaking current when both transistors are off.
  • mosfet_vth: Threshold voltage of the transistors.
• Loop Filter:
  • order: Filter orders
  • c1: C₁ value
  • r2: R₂ value
  • c2: C₂ value
  • r3: R₃ value (no effect for 2^nd order filter)
  • c3: C₃ value (no effect for 2^nd order filter)
• Voltage Controlled Oscillator
  • kvo: VCO gain (MHz/V),
  • fmin: Minimum frequency (when V_ctrl=0)
• Frequency Divider:
  • n: Division factor

An example of this file is shown in section 4.

In terms of output format there are two options available: VCD (default) or CSV. These are the formats available on SystemC AMS. There are many VCD viewers available on the web, some of them are free. One that I recommend is called Impulse, it is multi-platform and is available as a plug-in for Eclipse (or Cevelop in my case).

Another good option for macOS is Scansion.

The CSV format is more suitable to use with gnuplot, Python (matplotlib, or plotly), R (programming language) or even in Excel.

For the example I have chosen a 2.4-2.5GHz PLL with a reference of 1MHz. A higher reference frequency would be better as can be seen later, but for demonstration purposes its good enough. Also, this increases the computational problem as the reference clock is at least 2400 times slower than the output.

I have simulated 4 different setups. Two with 45° phase margin (2^nd and 3^rd order loop filter) and two with 60° phase margin. The configuration file 2450MHz output frequency, 60° phase margin and 3^rd order loop filter looks like:

{
	"system": {
		"vdd": 3.3,
		"vcm": 1.65,
		"fref": 1e6,
		"tstep": 8e-12,
		"tsim": 2e-4
	}
	"charge_pump": {
		"current_up": 100e-6,
		"current_dn": 100e-6,
		"current_leak": 50e-9,
		"mosfet_vth": 0.7
	},
	"loop_filter": {
		"order": 3,
		"c1": 21e-12,
		"r2": 85.5e3,
		"c2": 364e-12,
		"r3": 10e3,
		"c3": 48e-12
	},
	"vco": {
		"kvo": 36.363636e6,
		"fmin": 2.39e9
	},
	"divider": {
		"n": 2450
	}
}

The values for the loop filter were calculated using the online calculator.

Copyright (c) 2018 Américo Dias americo.dias@gmail.com

Released under the MIT license.