This Master’s Thesis is an evaluation of the software Xilinx System Generator (XSG) and blockset for Matlab. XSG is a module to simulink developed by Xilinx in order to generate VHDL code directly from functions implemented in Matlab. The evaluation was made at Saab Avionics AB in Järfälla, north of Stockholm. In order to investigate the performance of this new module XSG to simulink, a model of a frequency estimator often used in digital radar receivers were implemented in Matlab using XSG. Engineers working at SAAB Avionics implemented the same application directly in VHDL, without using Matlab and the XSG. After generating code the results were synthesised, analysed and compared. The frequency estimator basically contains an FFT, a windowing function and a sorting algorithm used to enable analyse of two real signals simultaneously. There were however problems during generation of the VHDL code and the model had to be broken into smaller parts containing only a 16-point FFT. The results of comparison in this report are based on models containing only this 16-point FFT and they show a small advantage for the System Generator according to the resource usage report generated during synthesis. Designing models for generation using Xilinx Blockset can create a lot of wiring between components. The reason for this is that the System Generator and Xilinx Blockset today is a new tool, not completely developed. There are many components found in simulink, Matlab that could not be found in Xilinx Blockset, this is however being improved. Another problem is long time for simulation and errors during generation. My opinion is that when used for smaller systems and with further development the System Generator can be a useful facility in designing digital electronics.

<p>This Master’s Thesis is an evaluation of the software Xilinx System Generator (XSG) and blockset for Matlab. XSG is a module to simulink developed by Xilinx in order to generate VHDL code directly from functions implemented in Matlab. The evaluation was made at Saab Avionics AB in Järfälla, north of Stockholm. </p><p>In order to investigate the performance of this new module XSG to simulink, a model of a frequency estimator often used in digital radar receivers were implemented in Matlab using XSG. Engineers working at SAAB Avionics implemented the same application directly in VHDL, without using Matlab and the XSG. After generating code the results were synthesised, analysed and compared. </p><p>The frequency estimator basically contains an FFT, a windowing function and a sorting algorithm used to enable analyse of two real signals simultaneously. There were however problems during generation of the VHDL code and the model had to be broken into smaller parts containing only a 16-point FFT. The results of comparison in this report are based on models containing only this 16-point FFT and they show a small advantage for the System Generator according to the resource usage report generated during synthesis. </p><p>Designing models for generation using Xilinx Blockset can create a lot of wiring between components. The reason for this is that the System Generator and Xilinx Blockset today is a new tool, not completely developed. There are many components found in simulink, Matlab that could not be found in Xilinx Blockset, this is however being improved. Another problem is long time for simulation and errors during generation. </p><p>My opinion is that when used for smaller systems and with further development the System Generator can be a useful facility in designing digital electronics.</p>