Optimal supply voltage selection through a multiobjective design strategy

Power consumption has become an increasingly important VLSI parameter primarily due to increased clock frequencies and integration. The advent of system-on-chip design, utilising ULSI scales of integration, increases the requirement for high-level CAD tools capable of power reduction. This paper presents a stochastic, multiobjective CAD tool that synthesises low-voltage signal-processing systems. The multiobjective nature of the tool enables a range of low-voltage systems to be synthesised, permitting the selection of the system that best meets the global requirements of the system-on-chip. Results are presented which illustrate the design information created for typical signal processing algorithms.