Flexible Processors: A Promising Application-specific Processor Design Approach

Abstract

A new approach to application specific processor design is presented in this paper. Existing application specific processors are either based on existing general purpose processors or custom designed special purpose processors. The availability of a new technology, the Xilinx Logic Cell Array, presents the opportunity for a new alternative. The Flexible Processor Cell is a prototype of an extremely reconfigurable application specific processor. Flexible processors can potentially provide the performance advantages of special purpose processors as well as the cost advantages of general purpose processors. The flexible processor concept opens many potential areas for future research in processor architecture and implementation. This paper presents the design, implementation, and preliminary performance evaluation of an experimental flexible processor.