Behavioural modelling and simulation for heterogeneous design applied to aerospace inertial microinstrumentation development

The extended use of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in the development of new microinstrumentation for aerospatial applications, which combine extreme sensitivity, accuracy and compactness, introduced the need to simplify their design process in order to reduce the design time and cost. The recent apparition of analogue and mixed signal extensions of hardware descriptions languages (VHDL-AMS, Verilog-AMS & SystemC-AMS) permits to co-simulate the HDL (VHDL and Verilog) design models for the digital signal processing and communication circuitry with behavioral models for the non digital parts (analog and mixed signal processing, RF circuitry and MEMS components). Since the beginning of the microinstrumentation design process the modeling and simulation could help to define better the specifications and in the architecture selection and in the SoC design process in a more realistic environment. We will present our experience in the application of these languages in the design of microinstruments by using behavioral modeling of MEMS.