Wireless Communications Design for ASICs, FPGAs, and SoCs

Deploying algorithmic models to ASIC, FPGA, or SoC hardware makes it possible to do over-the-air testing and verification. However, designing wireless communications systems for hardware requires design tradeoffs between hardware resources and throughput. You can speed up hardware design and deployment by using HDL-optimized blocks that have hardware-suitable interfaces and architectures, reference applications that implement portions of the LTE, 5G NR, satellite communication, WLAN, and custom OFDM-based communications physical layer, and automatic HDL code generation. You can also use hardware support packages to assist with deploying and verifying your design on real hardware.

MathWorks^® HDL products, such as Wireless HDL Toolbox™, allow you to start with a mathematical model, such as MATLAB^® code from LTE Toolbox™, 5G Toolbox™, WLAN Toolbox™, or Satellite Communications Toolbox and design a hardware implementation of that algorithm that is suitable for ASICs, FPGAs, and SoCs.

From Mathematical Algorithm to Hardware Implementation

Wireless communications design starts with algorithm development and testing using MATLAB functions. MATLAB code, which usually operates on matrices of floating-point data, is good for developing mathematical algorithms, manipulating large data sets, and visualizing data.

Hardware engineers typically receive a mathematical specification from an algorithm team, and reimplement the algorithm for hardware. Hardware designs require tradeoffs of resource usage for clock speed and overall throughput. This tradeoff means operating on streaming data, and designing logic to control the storage and flow of data. Hardware engineers also work in hardware description languages (HDLs), like VHDL and Verilog, that provide cycle-based modeling and parallelism.

To bridge this gap between mathematical algorithm and hardware implementation, use the MATLAB algorithm model as a starting point for hardware implementation. Make incremental changes to the design to make it suitable for hardware, and progress towards a Simulink^® model that you can use to automatically generate HDL code by using HDL Coder™.

This diagram shows the design progression from mathematical algorithm in MATLAB, to hardware-compatible implementation in Simulink, and then the generated VHDL code.

While both MATLAB and Simulink support automatic generation of HDL code, you must construct your design with hardware requirements in mind, and Simulink is better-suited for cycle-based modeling for hardware. It can represent parallel data paths and streaming data with control signals to manage the timing of the data stream. To aid in fixed-point type choices, it clearly visualizes data type propagation in the design. It also allows for easy pipelining of mathematical operations to improve maximum clock frequency in hardware.

While you create your hardware-ready design, use the MATLAB algorithm as a "golden reference" to verify that each version of the design still meets the mathematical requirements. The workflow shown in the diagram uses MATLAB and Simulink as collaboration and communication tools between the algorithm and hardware design teams.

For instance, when designing for LTE, 5G, WLAN, and satellite communication wireless standards, you can use LTE Toolbox, 5G Toolbox, WLAN Toolbox, and Satellite Communications Toolbox functions to create a golden reference in MATLAB. Then transition to Simulink and create a hardware-compatible implementation by using library blocks from Wireless HDL Toolbox and DSP HDL Toolbox™ that support HDL code generation. You can reuse test and data generation infrastructure from MATLAB by importing data from MATLAB to your Simulink model and returning the output of the model to MATLAB to verify it against the "golden reference".

HDL-Optimized Blocks

Library blocks from Wireless HDL Toolbox implement encoders, decoders, modulators, demodulators, and sequence generators for use in an LTE, 5G, WLAN, satellite communications, or custom OFDM-based wireless communications system. These blocks use a standard streaming data interface for hardware. This interface makes it easy to connect parts of the algorithm together, and includes control signals that manage the flow of data and mark frame boundaries. These blocks support automatic HDL code generation with HDL Coder. You can also use blocks from DSP HDL Toolbox that support HDL code generation.

The blocks provide hardware-suitable architectures that optimize resource use, such as including adder and multiplier pipelining to fit well into FPGA DSP slices. They also support automatic and configurable fixed-point data types. The blocks use vector input and parallel operations to provide high-throughput streaming interfaces that achieve gigasamples-per-second (GSPS) or super sample rates. Using predefined blocks also allows you to try different parameter configurations without changing the rest of the design.

For lists of blocks that support HDL code generation, see Wireless HDL Toolbox Block List (HDL Code Generation) (Wireless HDL Toolbox) and DSP HDL Toolbox Block List (HDL Code Generation) (DSP HDL Toolbox).

Reference Applications

Wireless HDL Toolbox provides reference applications that contain hardware-ready implementations of large parts of the LTE, 5G NR, Satellite, WLAN, and custom OFDM-based communications physical layer. The subsystems in these reference applications have also been tested on hardware boards. These designs are verified against the "golden reference" functions provided by LTE Toolbox, 5G Toolbox, WLAN Toolbox, or Satellite Communications Toolbox. They are designed to be modular, scalable, and extensible so you can insert additional physical channels.

These reference applications can be used as-is to deliver packet information to your unique application and to generate synthesizable VHDL or Verilog with HDL Coder. They also serve as examples to illustrate recommended practices for implementing communications algorithms on FPGA or ASIC hardware.

Generate HDL Code and Prototype on FPGA

Wireless HDL Toolbox provides blocks that support HDL code generation. To generate HDL code from designs that use these blocks, you must have an HDL Coder license. HDL Coder produces device-independent code with signal names that correspond to the Simulink model. HDL Coder also provides a tool to drive the FPGA synthesis and targeting process, and enables you to generate scripts and test benches for use with third-party HDL simulators.

To assist with the setup and targeting of programmable logic on a prototype board, and to verify your wireless communications system design on hardware, download the required hardware support package SoC Blockset™ Support Package for AMD FPGA and SoC Devices.

External Websites

• Wireless HDL Toolbox
• HDL Coder

Related Topics

• Prototype Wireless Communications Algorithms on Hardware (Wireless HDL Toolbox)