Fast synthesis of threshold logic networks with optimization

Abstract

Threshold logic, a more compact Boolean representation compared to conventional logic gate representation, re-attracted substantial attention from researchers due to the advances of threshold logic implementations with novel nanoscale devices. For the compact representation to be promising, a fast and effective method for transforming a conventional Boolean logic network into a threshold logic network is necessary. This paper presents such a synthesis method for threshold logic based on logic optimization. First, a Boolean logic network is mapped into a threshold logic network by one-to-one mapping. Then, a method is used to optimize the threshold logic network based on eight transformations for reducing gate count. Unlike the previous methods, the proposed method does not require threshold function identification, and thus is much more efficient. The experimental results show that the proposed method is three orders of magnitude faster than a widely used synthesis method. Additionally, the proposed method has a better synthesis quality with an average saving of 28% threshold gates.