Application-Level Memory Optimization for MPSoC

Abstract

Multiprocessor system-on-chip is one of the main drivers of the semiconductor industry revolution by enabling the integration of complex functionality on a single chip. Memory is becoming a key player for significant improvements in embedded systems (power, performance and area). With the emergence of more embedded multimedia applications in the industry, this issue becomes increasingly vital. These applications often use multi-dimensional arrays to store intermediate results during multimedia processing tasks. A couple of key optimization techniques exist and have been demonstrated on SoC architecture. This paper presents these techniques and their impact on a MPSoC environment and brings forward improvements. These techniques allow for optimization of memory space, reduction of the number of cache misses and extensive improvement of processing time extensively. In this paper's case study, theses techniques yield an average increase of the data cache hit rate by 20% and an average decrease of processing time by 50%