Design and Verification of an Asynchronous NoC Router Architecture for GALS Systems

Abstract

The increasing multi-core system complexity with technology scaling introduces new constraints and challenges to interconnection network design. Consequently, the research community has a converging trend toward an asynchronous design paradigm for Network-on-Chip (NoC) architecture as a promising solution to these challenges. This paper addresses the design and functional verification aspects of an asynchronous NoC router microarchitecture for a Globally Asynchronous Locally Synchronous (GALS) system. Firstly, the paper introduces a novel mixed-level abstract simulation approach for faster functional verification of the asynchronous architecture using the commercially available Spectre Analog and mixed-signal simulation (AMS) Designer tool. This simulation methodology intends to ensure the feasibility of the design and identify shortcomings, if any, before the subsequent implementation stages of the design. Also, the paper proposes a new baseline asynchronous router built on a domino logic pipeline template with a novel hybrid encoding scheme. The new hybrid encoding scheme facilitates simple architecture with no additional timing constraints. The proposed verification methodology evaluates the baseline asynchronous router’s functional verification in Cadence’s AMS designer tool. Preliminary simulation results conform to the objectives of the paper. Further, the same verification setup establishes the design validation in subsequent stages of the design implementation.