RISC-V presents a unique opportunity for designers to extend the microarchitecture with custom instructions. One possible application is digital signal filtering using finite impulse response (FIR) or median filters, potential algorithms for carrier demodulation schemes in communications systems like 5G. Codasip application… Read More
Author: Don Dingee
Extending RISC-V for accelerating FIR and median filters
Systematic RISC-V architecture analysis and optimization
The RISC-V movement has taken off so quickly because of the wide range of choices it offers designers. However, massive flexibility creates its own challenges. One is how to analyze, optimize, and verify an unproven RISC-V core design with potential microarchitecture changes allowed within the bounds of the specification. … Read More
Points teams should consider about securing embedded systems
Wishful thinking once prevailed that embedded systems, especially small embedded devices, rarely needed security, and if they did, simply installing a “secure” operating system or a security chip would keep them safe. Connecting devices big and small on the Internet of Things (IoT) shattered such insular thinking… Read More
400 GbE SmartNIC IP sets up FPGA-based traffic management
Sustaining wire-speed 400 GbE transfers is only a first step in managing enterprise traffic. Adding rules-based filtering to sift packets in real time can stress most networking hardware to a breaking point, slowing down an entire network. Architects are trying to spread these loads, distributing intelligent traffic management… Read More
Transforming RF design with curated EDA experiences
Access to sophisticated RF EDA tools is one thing. Effectively harnessing their capability in real-world use is another. Digital EDA and test & measurement providers have long recognized ongoing customer education needs for their solutions. Keysight is embarking on an initiative to develop curated EDA experiences with… Read More
Crypto modernization timeline starting to take shape
Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) might be a lower priority for many organizations, with the specter of quantum-based cracking seemingly far off. Government agencies are fully sensitized to the cracking risks and the investments needed to mitigate them and are busy laying 10-year plans for migration to quantum-safe encryption.… Read More
Reconfigurable DSP and AI IP arrives in next-gen InferX
DSP and AI are generally considered separate disciplines with different application solutions. In their early stages (before programmable processors), DSP implementations were discrete, built around a digital multiplier-accumulator (MAC). AI inference implementations also build on a MAC as their primitive. If the interconnect… Read More
Formal-based RISC-V processor verification gets deeper than simulation
The flexibility of RISC-V processor IP allows much freedom to meet specific requirements – but it also opens the potential for many bugs created during the design process. Advanced processor features are especially prone to errors, increasing the difficulty and time needed for thorough verification. Born out of necessity, … Read More
Configurable RISC-V core sidesteps cache misses with 128 fetches
Modern CPU performance hinges on keeping a processor’s pipeline fed so it executes operations on every tick of the clock, typically using abundant multi-level caching. However, a crop of cache-busting applications is looming, like AI and high-performance computing (HPC) applications running on big data sets. Semidynamics… Read More
Advanced electro-thermal simulation sees deeper inside chips
Heat and semiconductor reliability exist in an inversely proportional relationship. Before the breaking point at the thermal junction temperature rating, every 10°C rise in steady-state temperature cuts predicted MOSFET life in half. Yet, heat densities rise as devices plunge into harsher environments like smartphones,… Read More
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