Asynchronous Java accelerator for embedded Java virtual machine

In this paper, we propose a hardware accelerated Java virtual machine (JVM) based on an asynchronous Java accelerator core which can be integrated with any existing processor and operating system. The scheme of this JVM and the architecture of the Java accelerator is presented. The accelerator is targeted especially for low-power applications. It is completely designed using asynchronous (self-timed) circuit technology in which timing is based on local handshake protocols instead of global clocking. Furthermore, it contains a novel branch prediction unit and decoded bytecode cache to minimize the need for external memory access hence reducing the power consumption of the core.