Design and Verification of LC3 Microcontroller

Abstract

Abstract: The main focus of the work is on utilising System Verilog to verify and debug the LC-3 Microcontroller, a 16-bit RISC processor. The utilised LC-3 Design Under Test (DUT) contains numerous flaws in the Fetch, Decode, Execute, and Controller sub-design units as well as flaws throughout. Numerous intricate SV features, including OOPS, Randomization, Functional Coverage, Assertions, and UVM, are used to identify the problems. For testing and determining the origin of design problems, the System Verilog Hardware Verification Language is combined with the Mentor Graphics Questa Simulation Environment. As long as it adheres to the design standards, the LC-3 microcontroller used for verification is presumed to function flawlessly. Otherwise, any behaviour that is not in line with the design specifications is considered a bug. The paper offers an effective approach for Verification Engineers in the Embedded Systems Industry to use System Verilog, the newest trend in the EDA Industry today, as their preferred language for debugging.