Verilog-Based Design of AMBA-APB Protocol and Their Verification

Abstract

The Advanced Peripheral Bus (APB) is a crucial component of the Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMBA), a widely-used standard for designing complex microcontrollers with multiple peripherals. The APB's non-pipelined architecture allows it to connect low-transmission capacity peripherals to the SoC, while minimizing power utilization and interface complexity. The APB is designed to facilitate communication between master and slave devices, supporting multiple slaves in a system. The APB supports three types of transfers: Write, Read, and Idle. The objective of this work is to enable data transfers for Write and Read operations with both No-Wait and Wait states. No-Wait transfers are those that do not require the master to wait for a response from the slave before continuing, while Wait transfers require the master to wait until the slave responds. This allows for efficient and reliable communication between the master and slave devices in the system. To implement this functionality, the Verilog hardware description language (HDL) has been used for design. Verilog offers reusability of Test bench components, allowing for efficient verification of numerous test cases and ensuring the robustness and accuracy of the proposed system. The proposed design and verification methodology with Verilog HDL and a Test bench can thoroughly validate the APB protocol's functionality and performance. This approach enables comprehensive testing of Write and Read operations with No-Wait and Wait states, ensuring that the data transfers occur accurately and efficiently. By utilizing proper simulation and verification using Verilog and a Test bench, the proposed system can be confidently implemented in real-world applications. It provides reliable communication between master and slave devices in a system while minimizing power utilization and interface complexity. The design's reusability enhances the flexibility and adaptability of the system, ensuring that it can be adapted to different applications and scenarios. Overall, the proposed system provides a robust and efficient solution for communication between master and slave devices in an AMBA-based device.