A VHDL library of IP cores for power drive and motion control applications

This paper presents the design and implementation of a library of modules, called IP (“Intellectual Property”) cores, to be used in the design of power drive and motion control applications. The library was coded in VHDL for modularity and portability. The IP cores were validated in a XC4010XL FPGA and XESS XS40 prototyping board. Very frequently, power drive and motion control applications are implemented using a DSP or microcontroller and the algorithms are written in assembly or in a high level language such as C. By using VHDL to describe the circuit, we implement the algorithms directly in hardware, instead of writing a sequential program, which allows the development of high performance circuits but without increasing the cost of the product. Plus, it keeps the same advantages that made software design flow so popular: that is, it supports parameter-driven modules, top-down and bottom-up design flow and reusable coding. Besides, we may use a unified design framework to specify, model, simulate and implement the project. All tasks are realized in the same design environment and using the same tools, which is not supported in a software design flow