Circuit Techniques

Abstract

Optimizations at the architectural level must be adequately supported at the circuit level. The interconnect is the dominant component of the total energy consumption, with the clock distribution coming in second. Since the routing switches dominate the energy and delay performance of the interconnect, the design of the switches is crucial. Low-swing signaling is another technique which can reduce the interconnect energy. Most of the low-swing techniques are targeted at busses and similar structures, where the capacitance of the interconnect is known. The applicability of these techniques in an FPGA environment has to be explored.