Network interface sharing for SoCs based NoC

Abstract

The demand for IP reuse and system level scalability in System-on-Chip designs is growing. Network-on-chip constitutes a viable solution space to emerging SoC design challenges. In this paper, we present a configurable Network Interface(NI) architecture design approach with smaller area and lower power. The small area is achieved by memory resources sharing in the three modes used by the OCP IP or by many IPs connected to the NI. The low power is obtained by the implementation of a mechanism based on two level of gated clock for power saving. Experimental results show that adaptability, FIFO sharing, and gated clock aspects integrated in the proposed NI allow a significant reduction in terms of area and power.