Download VLSI-programming assignment 1: shift registers

VLSI-programming assignment 1: shift registers
See also Chapter 4 of the lecture notes and the handouts or Lectures 4 and 5.
1.1
Rlin4.tg
Tangram program Rlin4.tg is a simple, linear 4-place shift register. Study the program text and convince yourself of
its shift-register behavior. Apply the following Tangram tools.
Table 1
Tangram tool
tg2hc
hc2stt
hcsim
simview
arguments
Rlin4
Rlin4
Rlin4 a b
Rlin4
Notes
produces Rlin4.hcl, a handshake circuit
produces Rlin4.stt, statistics on the VLSI circuit
uses input file a (with message values) and produces file b
allows interactive viewing of simulation results.
Measure the following quantities:
a) circuit size: number of transistors, number of gate equivalents, and area [mm 2];
b) the cycle time [ns] and the throughput [MHz];
c) the latency [ns]? (Latency = time difference between output and input of the same message);
d) the energy/message.
Hint: for analysis in the time domain it is convenient to measure time and energy over a range of, say, 10 iterations or
10 messages.
1.2
Rlin4.tg and different message widths
Change the data type of the messages from byte to:


type [0..1]
type <<byte,byte,byte>>.
Compare circuit size, cycle time, and energy/message for the three shift registers. Explain how the three quantities vary
with the size [number of bits] of the messages.
1.3
Rlin8.tg
Extend Rlin4.tg to an 8-place linear shift register Rlin8.tg.
Do the same measurements for Rlin8.tg as in assignment 1.1 (a, b, c, d). Compare the results with those of Rlin4.tg
and explain the differences quantitavely.
Note: you can use “cntrl l” in simview to generate a LaTex file with graphical simulation data