| After a brief introduction to low-power VLSI design, the design space of ASIP instruction set architectures (ISAs) is introduced with a special focus on important features for digital signal processing. Based on the degrees of freedom offered by this design space, a consistent ASIP design flow is proposed: this design flow starts with a given application and uses incremental optimization of the ASIP hardware, of ASIP coprocessors and of the ASIP software by using a top-down approach and by applying application-specific modifications on all levels of design hierarchy. A broad range of real-world signal processing applications serves as vehicle to illustrate each design decision and provides a hands-on approach to ASIP design. Finally, two complete case studies demonstrate the feasibility and the efficiency of the proposed methodology and quantitatively evaluate the benefits of ASIPs in an industrial context.
Text provides coverage of best-practice ASIP hardware and software design. Introduces low-power VLSI design, the design space of ASIP instruction set architectures (ISAs), and important features for digital signal processing. Includes index, appendices, and references.
This book was written for hard- and software design engineers as well as students with a fundamental knowledge of VLSI logic design. The benefits of ASIPs can only be exploited by designers with expertise in the fields of VLSI hardware, computer architecture, and embedded software design. This book provides the essential knowledge in each of these disciplines and focuses on the practical implementation of ASIPs for real-world applications. Many examples illustrate the proposed methodology; theoretic discussions are kept to the minimum.
This book constitutes my Ph.D. thesis, which has been performed at the Institute for Integrated Signal Processing Systems at Aachen University of Technology (ISS/RWTH Aachen/Germany). My reviewers encouraged me to extend my thesis and publish this comprehensive book about ASIP design.
About the Authors
T. Gl¨okler received his diploma degree with honors in Electrical Engineering from Technical University of Stuttgart, Germany, in 1997. He spent five years working on his Ph.D. thesis at the Institute for Integrated Signal Processing Systems (ISS) at Aachen University of Technology (RWTH Aachen). At the ISS he was primarily involved in ASIP design and low-power hardware design methodology as well as in the development of EDA tools. He has written about 10 scientific conference and journal papers. His research interests include advanced algorithms for design automation and digital signal processing with a special focus on programmable architectures for efficient HW/SW codesign. Currently, he is with IBM Deutschland Entwicklung GmbH, Germany, where he is working on the design and verification of highend microprocessors for consumer applications. Tilman Gl¨okler is a member of the IEEE. |
