LEAD: Logarithmic Exponent Approximate Divider For Image Quantization Application

Abstract

Most of the applications of modern day VLSI designs are approaching towards energy efficient and high speed computing solutions. Approximate computing is considered a suitable design methodology that satisfies the current requirements of hardware and performance metrics without compromising on the outcome significantly. Many of the arithmetic operations are realized using approximate computing techniques, and many successful implementations are reported at system level designs. However divider operations in general are rarely realized in hardware and this needs much attention considering the surge in neural networks implementation in hardware. In this paper, a novel approximate divider is proposed which is not only characterized to have better accuracy and hardware efficient when compared to the other accurate dividers. The proposed divider is built on logarithmic divider and approximates the exponent part to achieve the desired hardware characteristics. The proposed 8-bit, and 16-bit divider design were realized in 45-NM CMOS technology for different input and output data format including integer, fixed-point, and floating-point. The proposed divider was characterized for error and hardware metrics and compared with other dividers. The novel divider was validated on K-means color quantization algorithm, showcasing improved quantization results.