Architectures L'intégrale

Despite five decades of research, parallel computing remains an exotic, frontier technology on the fringes of mainstream computing. Its much-heralded triumph over sequential computing has yet to materialize. This is in spite of the fact that the processing needs of many signal processing applications continue to eclipse the capabilities of sequential computing. The culprit is largely the software development environment. Fundamental shortcomings in the development environment of many parallel computer architectures thwart the adoption of parallel computing. Foremost, parallel computing has no unifying model to accurately predict the execution time of algorithms on parallel architectures. Cost and scarce programming resources prohibit deploying multiple algorithms and partitioning strategies in an attempt to find the fastest solution. As a consequence, algorithm design is largely an intuitive art form dominated by practitioners who specialize in a particular computer architecture. This, coupled with the fact that parallel computer architectures rarely last more than a couple of years, makes for a complex and challenging design environment.

New Algorithms, Architectures and Applications for Reconfigurable Computing consists of a collection of contributions from the authors of some of the best papers from the Field Programmable Logic conference (FPL’03) and the Design and Test Europe conference (DATE’03). In all, seventy-nine authors, from research teams from all over the world, were invited to present their latest research in the extended format permitted by this special volume. The result is a valuable book that is a unique record of the state of the art in research into field programmable logic and reconfigurable computing.

This book examines the issue of design of fully integrated frequency synthesizers suitable for system-on-a-chip (SOC) processors. This book takes a more global design perspective in jointly examining the design space at the circuit level as well as at the architectural level. The coverage of the book is comprehensive and includes summary chapters on circuit theory as well as feedback control theory relevant to the operation of phase locked loops (PLLs). On the circuit level, the discussion includes low-voltage analog design in deep submicron digital CMOS processes, effects of supply noise, substrate noise, as well device noise. On the architectural level, the discussion includes PLL analysis using continuous-time as well as discre- time models, linear and nonlinear effects of PLL performance, and detailed analysis of locking behavior. The material then develops into detailed circuit and architectural analysis of specific clock generation blocks. This includes circuits and architectures of PLLs with high power supply noise immunity and digital PLL architectures where the loop filter is digitized. Methods of generating low-spurious sampling clocks for discrete-time analog blocks are then examined.

In System-on-Chip Architectures and Implementations for Private-Key Data Encryption, new generic silicon architectures for the DES and Rijndael symmetric key encryption algorithms are presented.

The continuing reduction of feature sizes into the nanoscale regime has led to dramatic increases in transistor densities. Integration at these levels has highlighted the criticality of the on-chip interconnects. Network-on-Chip (NoC) architectures are viewed as a possible solution to burgeoning global wiring delays in many-core chips, and have recently crystallized into a significant research domain. On-chip networks instill a new flavor to communication research due to their inherently resource-constrained nature. Despite the lightweight character demanded of the NoC components, modern designs require ultra-low communication latencies in order to cope with inflating data bandwidths.

This book describes the recent innovation of deep in-memory architectures for realizing AI systems that operate at the edge of energy-latency-accuracy trade-offs. From first principles to lab prototypes, this book provides a comprehensive view of this emerging topic for both the practicing engineer in industry and the researcher in academia. The book is a journey into the exciting world of AI systems in hardware.

The total of 145 full papers included in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 403 submissions. They cover the many dimensions of parallel algorithms and architectures including fundamental theoretical approaches, practical experimental projects, and commercial components and systems.

The total of 145 full papers included in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 403 submissions. They cover the many dimensions of parallel algorithms and architectures including fundamental theoretical approaches, practical experimental projects, and commercial components and systems.