Systemc modelization for fast validation of imager architectures

Development of smart CMOS imagers is a complex design task where the verification of an architecture composed of a matrix of pixels intermixed with analog and digital electronics is playing an important part. New generations of imager using 3D integration will allow even more processing to be done in-situ. Verification has to be done locally for the pixel and globally for the architecture. Design exploration and validation problematic has shifted from mostly the analog domain to the validation of a complex SOC with millions of parallel processors, the pixels. In this paper we present a methodology using the SystemC language for the creation of fast models for validation and a first level evaluation of performance of large CMOS imager architectures.