Extension of SystemC framework towards power analysis

In the last years power dissipation has assumed a more and more relevant role in the design of complex integrated circuits, leading to an increasing need for effective power analysis tools. At present, a major demand is given by the capability to perform power estimations and optimizations in the first design phases, onto high abstraction level system description. As a consequence, the modern tools are required to be compatible with design languages able to address high abstraction levels, such as SystemC/C++. This paper describes the framework of a recently developed SystemC/C++ power analysis tool, the PKtool environment. The discussion underlines the followed implementation approach as fundamental guideline for explaining the features of this tool and the conceptual differences with other commercial tools.