MSL16A: an asynchronous Forth microprocessor

Author

Tsang, P.K. ; Cheung, C.C. ; Leung, K.H. ; Lee, T.K. ; Leong, P.H.W.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Comput. Sci. & Eng., Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong

Volume

2

fYear

1999

fDate

36495

Firstpage

1079

Abstract

A 16-bit Forth microprocessor, called MSL16, was developed for embedded applications, as the design offers good code density, easily developed software development tools, high performance and small area. A delay-insensitive re-implementation of the processor has been developed to explore the potentials of asynchronous logic for low-power applications and to demonstrate the feasibility and practicability of using asynchronous circuits in embedded applications. This paper describes the asynchronous clone of the MSL16, called the MSL16A. Its implementation and performance evaluation are also presented. The design is fabricated using the AMI 1.2-μm CMOS double-layer metal process in 3Q99

Keywords

CMOS logic circuits; FORTH; asynchronous circuits; embedded systems; firmware; microprocessor chips; performance evaluation; 1.2 micron; 16 bit; 3Q99; AMI CMOS double-layer metal process; MSL16A; asynchronous Forth microprocessor; asynchronous circuits; asynchronous logic; chip area; code density,; delay-insensitive reimplementation; embedded applications; low-power applications; performance; performance evaluation; software development tools; Ambient intelligence; Application software; Asynchronous circuits; CMOS logic circuits; CMOS process; Cloning; Delay; Logic circuits; Microprocessors; Programming;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

TENCON 99. Proceedings of the IEEE Region 10 Conference

Conference_Location

Cheju Island

Print_ISBN

0-7803-5739-6

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/TENCON.1999.818610

Filename

818610