Equalizing data-path for processing speed determination in block level pipelining

Signal processing algorithms represented by data flow graphs can be efficiently mapped to hardware using a block level pipelining architecture. In this scheme, nodes of data flow are mapped to processing blocks and buffers are inserted in between as pipelining elements. We present, in this paper, a methodology for equalizing execution times of various nodes in the data path. The method is used to minimize the power dissipation and buffer usage by judiciously selecting the execution speed of hardware units. The block level pipelining allows for simple local controllers for each buffer which are generated by the global controller based on data flow specifications. The evaluation of the methodology on a practical example is presented.