An energy-conscious exploration methodology for reconfigurable DSPs

As the "system-on-a-chip" concept is rapidly becoming a reality, time-to-market and product complexity push the reuse of complex macromodules. Circuits combining a variety of the macromodules (micro-processors, DSPs, programmable logic and embedded memories) are being reported by a number of companies. Most of these systems target the embedded market where speed, area, and power requirements are paramount, and a balance between hardware and software implementation is needed. Reconfigurable computing devices have recently emerged as one of the major alternative implementation approaches, addressing most of the requirements outlined above.