Optimal partition with block-level parallelization in C-to-RTL synthesis for streaming applications

Abstract

Developing FPGA solutions for streaming applications written in C (or its variants) can benefit greatly from automatic C-to-RTL (C2RTL) synthesis. Yet, the complexity and stringent throughput/cost constraints of such applications are rather challenging for existing C2RTL synthesis tools. This paper considers automatic partition and block-level parallelization to address these challenges. An MILP-based approach is introduced for finding an optimal partition of a given program into blocks while allowing block-level parallelization. In order to handle extremely large problem instances, a heuristic algorithm is also discussed. Experimental results based on seven well known multimedia applications demonstrate the effectiveness of both solutions.