A flexible datapath allocation method for architectural synthesis

Abstract

We present a robust datapath allocation method that is flexible enough to handle constraints imposed by a variety of target architectures. Key features of this method are its ability to handle accurate modeling of datapath units and the simultaneous optimization of direct objective functions. The proposed method consists of a new binding model construction scheme and an optimization technique based on simulated annealing. To illustrate the flexibility of this method, two datapath allocation procedures have been developed for two problem enviroments: (1) a procedure that incorporates interconnection area and delay estimates, where floor-planning is tightly integrated into datapath allocation; and (2) a procedure that handles registers, register files, and multiport memories for data storage, as well as random and linear topologies for interconnection architectures. Results from these two applications show our method produces competitive designs for benchmark circuits, as well as being flexible enough to be used for a variety of different domains.