A Method to Abstract RTL IP Blocks into C plus plus Code and Enable High-Level Synthesis

We present a method to automatically generate a synthesizable C++ specification from the given RTL design of an IP block, by abstracting away most of its micro-architectural characteristics while preserving its functionality. The goal is twofold: recover the IP block specification for system-level design, and enable the derivation of more optimized implementations through high-level synthesis. The C++ specification can be generated with different interfaces thus allowing the IP model to be reused across different system platforms. Experimental results show that the proposed approach not only enhances the reusability of the recovered IP block but also unveils a richer design space to explore.