UTDSP, a VLIW programmable DSP processor

grantor: University of TorontoVLIW architectures are well-suited for implementing application-specific programmable processors because of their great scalability and modularity. VLIW architectures take advantage of not only temporal parallelism found in RISC architectures but also spatial parallelism by using multiple functional units. However, the large instruction storage and bandwidth requirements have prevented VLIW architectures from being used in cost-sensitive systems. This thesis describes a VLIW DSP processor called UTDSP, which incorporates a novel and flexible instruction packing and fetching mechanism to reduce the code size and bandwidth problems plaguing other VLIW architectures. With this scheme it is possible to actually achieve some code compression while attaining significant performance speedup over a traditional architecture. The UTDSP is flexible in that additional functional units with application-specific instructions can be easily added when required for performance with little impact on its compiler. The VLSI design and implementation of the UTDSP is presented. This implementation, consisting of five pipeline stages, is capable of executing seven instructions per cycle and provides zero-overhead hardware loops that are nestable and interruptable. A GUI-based assembly debugger and architecture simulator were implemented. The UTDSP adopts a synthesis-based design methodology and a novel hierarchical CAD flow that can significantly reduce its area.M.A.Sc