Epilogue

Abstract

Asynchronous technology has existed since the first days of digital electronics — many of the earliest computers did not employ a central clock signal. However, with the development of integrated circuits the need for a straightforward design discipline that could scale up rapidly with the available transistor resource was pressing, and clocked design became the dominant approach. Today, most practising digital designers know very little about asynchronous techniques, and what they do know tends to discourage them from venturing into the territory. But clocked design is beginning to show signs of stress — its ability to scale is waning, and it brings with it growing problems of excessive power dissipation and electromagnetic interference.