Asynchronous design by conversion: converting synchronous circuits into asynchronous ones

A novel methodology and algorithm for the design of large low-power asynchronous systems are described. The system is synthesized by a commercial tool as a synchronous circuit, and subsequently converted into an asynchronous one. The conversion algorithm consists of extracting input and output sets, replacing the storage elements, identifying fork and join sets, and constructing request and acknowledge networks. A DLAP (doubly latched asynchronous pipeline) architecture is employed. The resulting asynchronous circuit can adapt its effective operating frequency to the supply voltage, facilitating flexible and efficient power management. The algorithm has been validated on several circuits.