Algorithms and VLSI architectures for parametric additive synthesis

A parametric additive synthesis approach to sound synthesis is advantageous as it can model sounds in a large scale manner, unlike the classical sinusoidal additive based synthesis paradigms. It is known that a large body of naturally occurring sounds are resonant in character and thus fit the concept well. This thesis is concerned with the computational optimisation of a super class of form ant synthesis which extends the sinusoidal parameters with a spread parameter known as band width. Here a modified formant algorithm is introduced which can be traced back to work done at IRCAM, Paris. When impulse driven, a filter based approach to modelling a formant limits the computational work-load. It is assumed that the filter's coefficients are fixed at initialisation, thus avoiding interpolation which can cause the filter to become chaotic. A filter which is more complex than a second order section is required. Temporal resolution of an impulse generator is achieved by using a two stage polyphase decimator which drives many filterbanks. Each filterbank describes one formant and is composed of sub-elements which allow variation of the formant’s parameters. A resource manager is discussed to overcome the possibility of all sub- banks operating in unison. All filterbanks for one voice are connected in series to the impulse generator and their outputs are summed and scaled accordingly. An explorative study of number systems for DSP algorithms and their architectures is investigated. I invented a new theoretical mechanism for multi-level logic based DSP. Its aims are to reduce the number of transistors and to increase their functionality. A review of synthesis algorithms and VLSI architectures are discussed in a case study between a filter based bit-serial and a CORDIC based sinusoidal generator. They are both of similar size, but the latter is always guaranteed to be stable

A high-performance inner-product processor for real and complex numbers.

A novel, high-performance fixed-point inner-product processor based on a redundant binary number system is investigated in this dissertation. This scheme decreases the number of partial products to 50%, while achieving better speed and area performance, as well as providing pipeline extension opportunities. When modified Booth coding is used, partial products are reduced by almost 75%, thereby significantly reducing the multiplier addition depth. The design is applicable for digital signal and image processing applications that require real and/or complex numbers inner-product arithmetic, such as digital filters, correlation and convolution. This design is well suited for VLSI implementation and can also be embedded as an inner-product core inside a general purpose or DSP FPGA-based processor. Dynamic control of the computing structure permits different computations, such as a variety of inner-product real and complex number computations, parallel multiplication for real and complex numbers, and real and complex number division. The same structure can also be controlled to accept redundant binary number inputs for multiplication and inner-product computations. An improved 2's-complement to redundant binary converter is also presented

The implementation and applications of multiple-valued logic

Multiple-Valued Logic (MVL) takes two major forms. Multiple-valued circuits can implement the logic directly by using multiple-valued signals, or the logic can be implemented indirectly with binary circuits, by using more than one binary signal to represent a single multiple-valued signal. Techniques such as carry-save addition can be viewed as indirectly implemented MVL. Both direct and indirect techniques have been shown in the past to provide advantages over conventional arithmetic and logic techniques in algorithms required widely in computing for applications such as image and signal processing. It is possible to implement basic MVL building blocks at the transistor level. However, these circuits are difficult to design due to their non binary nature. In the design stage they are more like analogue circuits than binary circuits. Current integrated circuit technologies are biased towards binary circuitry. However, in spite of this, there is potential for power and area savings from MVL circuits, especially in technologies such as BiCMOS. This thesis shows that the use of voltage mode MVL will, in general not provide bandwidth increases on circuit buses because the buses become slower as the number of signal levels increases. Current mode MVL circuits however do have potential to reduce power and area requirements of arithmetic circuitry. The design of transistor level circuits is investigated in terms of a modern production technology. A novel methodology for the design of current mode MVL circuits is developed. The methodology is based upon the novel concept of the use of non-linear current encoding of signals, providing the opportunity for the efficient design of many previously unimplemented circuits in current mode MVL. This methodology is used to design a useful set of basic MVL building blocks, and fabrication results are reported. The creation of libraries of MVL circuits is also discussed. The CORDIC algorithm for two dimensional vector rotation is examined in detail as an example for indirect MVL implementation. The algorithm is extended to a set of three dimensional vector rotators using conventional arithmetic, redundant radix four arithmetic, and Taylor's series expansions. These algorithms can be used for two dimensional vector rotations in which no scale factor corrections are needed. The new algorithms are compared in terms of basic VLSI criteria against previously reported algorithms. A pipelined version of the redundant arithmetic algorithm is floorplanned and partially laid out to give indications of wiring overheads, and layout densities. An indirectly implemented MVL algorithm such as the CORDIC algorithm described in this thesis would clearly benefit from direct implementation in MVL

Novel arithmetic implementations using cellular neural network arrays.

The primary goal of this research is to explore the use of arrays of analog self-synchronized cells---the cellular neural network (CNN) paradigm---in the implementation of novel digital arithmetic architectures. In exploring this paradigm we also discover that the implementation of these CNN arrays produces very low system noise; that is, noise generated by the rapid switching of current through power supply die connections---so called di/dt noise. With the migration to sub 100 nanometer process technology, signal integrity is becoming a critical issue when integrating analog and digital components onto the same chip, and so the CNN architectural paradigm offers a potential solution to this problem. A typical example is the replacement of conventional digital circuitry adjacent to sensitive bio-sensors in a SoC Bio-Platform. The focus of this research is therefore to discover novel approaches to building low-noise digital arithmetic circuits using analog cellular neural networks, essentially implementing asynchronous digital logic but with the same circuit components as used in analog circuit design. We address our exploration by first improving upon previous research into CNN binary arithmetic arrays. The second phase of our research introduces a logical extension of the binary arithmetic method to implement binary signed-digit (BSD) arithmetic. To this end, a new class of CNNs that has three stable states is introduced, and is used to implement arithmetic circuits that use binary inputs and outputs but internally uses the BSD number representation. Finally, we develop CNN arrays for a 2-dimensional number representation (the Double-base Number System - DBNS). A novel adder architecture is described in detail, that performs the addition as well as reducing the representation for further processing; the design incorporates an innovative self-programmable array. Extensive simulations have shown that our new architectures can reduce system noise by almost 70dB and crosstalk by more than 23dB over standard digital implementations.Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2005 .I27. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-11, Section: B, page: 6159. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2005

Design and implementation of high-radix arithmetic systems based on the SDNR/RNS data representation

This project involved the design and implementation of high-radix arithmetic systems based on the hybrid SDNRIRNS data representation. Some real-time applications require a real-time arithmetic system. An SDNR/RNS arithmetic system provides parallel, real-time processing. The advantages and disadvantages of high-radix SDNR/RNS arithmetic, and the feasibility of implementing SDNR/RNS arithmetic systems in CMOS VLSI technology, were investigated in this project. A common methodological model, which included the stages of analysis, design, implementation, testing, and simulation, was followed. The combination of the SDNR and RNS transforms potential complex logic networks into simpler logic blocks. It was found that when constructing a SDNRIRNS adder, factors such as the radix, digit set, and moduli must be taken into account. There are many avenues still to explore. For example, implementing other arithmetic systems in the same CMOS VLSI technology used in this project and comparing them to equivalent SDNR/RNS systems would provide a set of benchmarks. These benchmarks would be useful in addressing issues relating to relative performance

HIGH-SPEED CO-PROCESSORS BASED ON REDUNDANT NUMBER SYSTEMS

There is a growing demand for high-speed arithmetic co-processors for use in applications with computationally intensive tasks. For instance, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) co-processors are used in real-time multimedia services and financial applications use decimal co-processors to perform large amounts of decimal computations. Using redundant number systems to eliminate word-wide carry propagation within interim operations is a well-known technique to increase the speed of arithmetic hardware units. Redundant number systems are mostly useful in applications where many consecutive arithmetic operations are performed prior to the final result, making it advantageous for arithmetic co-processors. This thesis discusses the implementation of two popular arithmetic co-processors based on redundant number systems: namely, the binary FFT co-processor and the decimal arithmetic co-processor. FFT co-processors consist of several consecutive multipliers and adders over complex numbers. FFT architectures are implemented based on fixed-point and floating-point arithmetic. The main advantage of floating-point over fixed-point arithmetic is the wide dynamic range it introduces. Moreover, it avoids numerical issues such as scaling and overflow/underflow concerns at the expense of higher cost. Furthermore, floating-point implementation allows for an FFT co-processor to collaborate with general purpose processors. This offloads computationally intensive tasks from the primary processor. The first part of this thesis, which is devoted to FFT co-processors, proposes a new FFT architecture that uses a new Binary-Signed Digit (BSD) carry-limited adder, a new floating-point BSD multiplier and a new floating-point BSD three-operand adder. Finally, a new unit labeled as Fused-Dot-Product-Add (FDPA) is designed to compute AB+CD+E over floating-point BSD operands. The second part of the thesis discusses decimal arithmetic operations implemented in hardware using redundant number systems. These operations are popularly used in decimal floating-point co-processors. A new signed-digit decimal adder is proposed along with a sequential decimal multiplier that uses redundant number systems to increase the operational frequency of the multiplier. New redundant decimal division and square-root units are also proposed. The architectures proposed in this thesis were all implemented using Hardware-Description-Language (Verilog) and synthesized using Synopsys Design Compiler. The evaluation results prove the speed improvement of the new arithmetic units over previous pertinent works. Consequently, the FFT and decimal co-processors designed in this thesis work with at least 10% higher speed than that of previous works. These architectures are meant to fulfill the demand for the high-speed co-processors required in various applications such as multimedia services and financial computations