Majority and Minority Network Synthesis With Application to QCA-, SET-, and TPL-Based Nanotechnologies

Abstract

In this paper, we present a methodology for efficient majority/minority network synthesis of arbitrary multiout- put Boolean functions. Many emerging nanoscale technologies, such as quantum cellular automata (QCA), single electron tunneling (SET), and tunneling phase logic (TPL), are capable of implementing majority or minority logic very efficiently. The main purpose of this paper is to lay the foundation for research on the development of synthesis methodologies and tools to generate optimized majority/minority networks for these emergent technologies. Functionally correct QCA-, SET-, and TPL-based majority/ minority gates have been successfully demonstrated. However, there exists no comprehensive methodology or design automation tool for general multilevel majority/minority network synthesis. We have built the first such tool, majority logic synthesizer, on top of an existing Boolean logic synthesis tool. Experiments with 40 Microelectronics Center of North Carolina benchmarks were performed. They indicate that up to 68.0% reduction in gate count is possible when utilizing majority/minority logic, with the average reduction being 21.9%, compared to traditional logic synthesis, in which two-input and/or gates in the circuit are converted to majority/minority gates.