A Generator-based Method for Designing Application Specific DSPs
01 January 1988
A top-down generator-based method for designing Application Specific Digital Signal Processors (ASDSPs) has been developed as a first step towards an automatic synthesis of digital signal processing integrated circuits. An ASDSP design environment for fast development based upon the use of pre- designed hierarchical layout generators has been created. A library of parameterized layout generators was constructed to prove in the overall technique. We map data flow graphs pertaining to an ASDSP into equivalent digital hardware blocks. Data communication is done asynchronously between the blocks using a simple handshake protocol. Using this technique, we have been able to design an Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter layout generator whose control section (implemented by a Programmable Logic Array (PLA)) remains invariant with the change of order of the filter, or for varying the computational precision. Users can get a layout of the desired filter by specifying only its frequency characteristics.