Programmable Asynchronous Pipeline Arrays

Abstract. We discuss high-performance programmable asynchronous pipeline arrays (PAPAs). These pipeline arrays are coarse-grain field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that realize high data throughput with fine-grain pipelined asynchronous circuits. We show how the PAPA architecture maintains most of the speed and energy benefits of a custom asynchronous design, while also providing post-fabrication logic reconfigurability. We report results for a prototype PAPA design in a 0.25µm CMOS process that has a peak pipeline throughput of 395MHz for asynchronous logic.