Abstract:
As demand increases for circuits with higher performance, higher complexity, and decreased feature size, asynchronous (clockless) paradigms will become more widely used i...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
As demand increases for circuits with higher performance, higher complexity, and decreased feature size, asynchronous (clockless) paradigms will become more widely used in the semiconductor industry, as evidenced by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors' (ITRS) prediction of a likely shift from synchronous to asynchronous design styles in order to increase circuit robustness, decrease power, and alleviate many clock-related issues , . ITRS shows that asynchronous circuits accounted for 11% of chip area in 2008, compared to 7% in 2007, and estimates they will account for 23% of chip area by 2014 and 35% of chip area by 2019 . To meet this growing industry need, computer engineering students should be introduced to asynchronous circuit design to make them more marketable and more prepared for the challenges faced by the digital design community for years to come. This paper introduces asynchronous logic design in the context of the familiar synchronous logic, then provides a description of course modules developed for NULL Convention Logic (NCL), an asynchronous logic paradigm that is very similar to the synchronous paradigm. This approach ensures that students can easily relate asynchronous design and optimization techniques to the corresponding synchronous techniques. The materials presented in this paper have been used in a number of undergraduate and graduate courses and have been well received by the students.
Published in: IEEE Transactions on Education ( Volume: 53, Issue: 3, August 2010)
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
Scott C. Smith (SM'06) received the B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and computer engineering and the M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri—Columbia in 1996 and 1998, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in computer engineering from the University of Central Florida, Orlando, in 2001.
He started as an Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri—Rolla in August 2001, was promoted to...Show More
Scott C. Smith (SM'06) received the B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and computer engineering and the M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri—Columbia in 1996 and 1998, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in computer engineering from the University of Central Florida, Orlando, in 2001.
He started as an Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri—Rolla in August 2001, was promoted to...View more
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO, USA
Waleed K. Al-Assadi (SM'09) received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, in 1996.
He came to Missouri University of Science & Technology (MST), Rolla, from industry. He has over eight years of industrial experience in the major semiconductor companies. He spent two years as a Senior Development Design Engineer with Advanced Micro Devices, Texas Microprocessors Division, ...Show More
Waleed K. Al-Assadi (SM'09) received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, in 1996.
He came to Missouri University of Science & Technology (MST), Rolla, from industry. He has over eight years of industrial experience in the major semiconductor companies. He spent two years as a Senior Development Design Engineer with Advanced Micro Devices, Texas Microprocessors Division, ...View more
Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
Jia Di (M'04) received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China in 1997 and 2000, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Central Florida, Orlando, in 2004.
He then joined the Computer Science and Computer Engineering Department, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, as an Assistant Professor. His research interests include asynchro...Show More
Jia Di (M'04) received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China in 1997 and 2000, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Central Florida, Orlando, in 2004.
He then joined the Computer Science and Computer Engineering Department, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, as an Assistant Professor. His research interests include asynchro...View more
Contents Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
Scott C. Smith (SM'06) received the B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and computer engineering and the M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri—Columbia in 1996 and 1998, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in computer engineering from the University of Central Florida, Orlando, in 2001.
He started as an Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri—Rolla in August 2001, was promoted to Associate Professor in March 2007 (effective September 2007), and is currently an Associate Professor at University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He has authored 13 journal publications, 31 conference papers, three U.S./international patents, and two additional international patents, all of which can be viewed from his Web site: http://comp.uark.edu/~smithsco/. His research interests include computer architecture, asynchronous logic design, CAD tool development, embedded system design, VLSI, FPGAs, trustable hardware, self-reconfigurable logic, and wireless sensor networks.
Dr. Smith is a Member of Sigma Xi, Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and ASEE.
Scott C. Smith (SM'06) received the B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and computer engineering and the M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri—Columbia in 1996 and 1998, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in computer engineering from the University of Central Florida, Orlando, in 2001.
He started as an Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri—Rolla in August 2001, was promoted to Associate Professor in March 2007 (effective September 2007), and is currently an Associate Professor at University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He has authored 13 journal publications, 31 conference papers, three U.S./international patents, and two additional international patents, all of which can be viewed from his Web site: http://comp.uark.edu/~smithsco/. His research interests include computer architecture, asynchronous logic design, CAD tool development, embedded system design, VLSI, FPGAs, trustable hardware, self-reconfigurable logic, and wireless sensor networks.
Dr. Smith is a Member of Sigma Xi, Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and ASEE.View more
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO, USA
Waleed K. Al-Assadi (SM'09) received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, in 1996.
He came to Missouri University of Science & Technology (MST), Rolla, from industry. He has over eight years of industrial experience in the major semiconductor companies. He spent two years as a Senior Development Design Engineer with Advanced Micro Devices, Texas Microprocessors Division, and six years as Advisory Engineer with IBM PowerPC Embedded Processors, IBM Microelectronics, Research Triangle Park, NC. He joined MST in August 2003 and has since been focusing his research and teaching efforts on VLSI design and testing, including design-for-test (DFT) methodologies for asynchronous circuits.
Waleed K. Al-Assadi (SM'09) received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, in 1996.
He came to Missouri University of Science & Technology (MST), Rolla, from industry. He has over eight years of industrial experience in the major semiconductor companies. He spent two years as a Senior Development Design Engineer with Advanced Micro Devices, Texas Microprocessors Division, and six years as Advisory Engineer with IBM PowerPC Embedded Processors, IBM Microelectronics, Research Triangle Park, NC. He joined MST in August 2003 and has since been focusing his research and teaching efforts on VLSI design and testing, including design-for-test (DFT) methodologies for asynchronous circuits.View more
Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
Jia Di (M'04) received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China in 1997 and 2000, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Central Florida, Orlando, in 2004.
He then joined the Computer Science and Computer Engineering Department, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, as an Assistant Professor. His research interests include asynchronous logic, ultra-low power digital circuit design, hardware security, and embedded systems.
Jia Di (M'04) received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China in 1997 and 2000, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Central Florida, Orlando, in 2004.
He then joined the Computer Science and Computer Engineering Department, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, as an Assistant Professor. His research interests include asynchronous logic, ultra-low power digital circuit design, hardware security, and embedded systems.View more
