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CSE140L: Components and Design Techniques for Digital Systems Lab

CPU design and PLDs

Tajana Simunic Rosing

Source: Vahid, Katz

Updates & Outline• Lab #3 due• Lab #4 – CPU design• Today:

– CPU design - lab overview– PLDs

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CSE140L: Components and Design Techniques for Digital Systems Lab

Lab #4 – CPU design

Tajana Simunic Rosing

Source: Vahid, Katz

Simple in-order processor

Objectives:

• Implementing a real processor on FPGA (challenging but fun!)

Challenges:• Design and implement the processor data path• Design and implement the processor control units• Make the whole thing work

Processor overview

InstructionMemory

Control unit

RegisterFile

ALU

PC

Address

7-bit instruction

Instruction format

3-bit OP code 4-bit data

• Each Instruction has a size of 7 bits

Instruction format

Determines the instruction (i.e 100 = add)

Instruction set

R3 = R1 + R2

Instruction memory• Holds the whole program instructions• Implemented as a ROM• Can hold up to 16 instructions

InstructionMemory

Address

7-bit instruction

module instruction_ROM(addr, inst);input [3:0] addr;output [6:0] inst;wire [6:0] memory [15:0];

assign memory[0] = 7'b0000000;assign memory[1] = 7'b0010001;assign memory[2] = 7'b0100010;assign memory[3] = 7'b1000000;assign memory[4] = 7'b0110000;assign memory[5] = 7'b0100100;assign memory[6] = 7'b1100000;assign memory[7] = 7'b1110011;assign memory[8] = 7'b0000000;assign memory[9] = 7'b0000000;assign memory[10] = 7'b0000000;assign memory[11] = 7'b0000000;assign memory[12] = 7'b0000000;assign memory[13] = 7'b0000000;assign memory[14] = 7'b0000000;assign memory[15] = 7'b0000000;assign inst = memory[addr];

endmodule

Program counter

PC

Address to memory

clk resetenable load

Branch address

• Generate the next instruction address

• For non-control flow instructions• PC = PC + 1 (Enable signal = 1)

• For control flow instructions• PC = Branch address (load signal = 1)

• Think about how to implement this unit

Instruction decoder

Control unit

Instruction 3bit OP

Data path control signals

• Decodes the instruction by reading the3-bit OP code bits from the memory

• Generate the control signals to the restof the processor (i.e. tells the ALU to

add when there is an ADD instruction)

• Think about how to implement this unit

Register file

RegisterFile

Control signals

ALU

ALU output

Instruction (bit0-bit3)

• Contains THREE 4-bit registers and the Flag bit• Each register is made up of D-FF

• Challenge:• Determine the appropriate interfacing

with the rest of you processorCompareflag

ALU

ALU

Control

ResultsInput operands

• Performs Addition, Multiplication and comparison• Two input 4-bit operands• Outputs: 4-bit results and 1-bit Compare

Interfacing• Implement it!

Sample code

Test your design

• Testing phase is essential to ensure that your design is a bug free

• Here are some tips• Generate test cases for all the instructions• Generate test cases with various input conditions• Generate test cases for some interesting combinations of

instructions (e.g. control flow with non-control flowinstructions)

Good luck and have FUN!

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CSE140L: Components and Design Techniques for Digital Systems Lab

PLDs (cont.)

Tajana Simunic Rosing

Source: Xilinx

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Programmable Logic Devices (PLD)• PLDs combine PLA/PAL with memory and other advanced

structures– Similar to PLA/PAL, hence Field-Programmable Gate Arrays

• Types:– Antifuse PLDs– EPLD & EEPLD– FPGAs with RAMs– FPGA with processing

• Digital Signal Processing• General purpose CPU

Field-Programmable Gate Arrays

• Logic blocks– To implement combinational

and sequential logic• Interconnect

– Wires to connect inputs andoutputs to logic blocks

• I/O blocks– Special logic blocks at

periphery of device forexternal connections

• Key questions:– How to make logic blocks programmable?– How to connect the wires?– After the chip has been manufactured

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Antifuse PLDs• Actel’s Axcelerator Family

• Antifuse: – open when not programmed– Low resistance when programmed

Actel’s Axcelerator C-Cell

• C-Cell– Basic multiplexer logic plus

more inputs and support for fast carry calculation

– Carry connections are “direct” and do not require propagation through the programmable interconnect

Actel’s Accelerator R-Cell

• R-Cell– Core is D flip-flop– Muxes for altering the clock and

selecting an input– Feed back path for current value

of the flip-flop for simple hold– Direct connection from one C-cell

output of logic module to an R-cell input; Eliminates need to use the programmable interconnect

• Interconnection Fabric– Partitioned wires– Special long wires

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Altera’s EEPLD• Altera’s MAX 7k Block Diagram Global Routing:

ProgrammableInterconnectArray

LogicArrayBlocks

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EEPLD

• Altera’s MAX 7k Logic Block

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SRAM based PLD• Altera’s Flex 10k Block Diagram

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SRAM based PLD• Altera’s Flex 10k Logic Array Block (LAB)

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SRAM based PLD• Altera’s Flex 10k Logic Element (LE)

CLB

CLB

CLB

CLB

SwitchMatrix

ProgrammableInterconnect I/O Blocks (IOBs)

ConfigurableLogic Blocks (CLBs)

D Q

SlewRate

Control

PassivePull-Up,

Pull-Down

Delay

Vcc

OutputBuffer

InputBuffer

Q D

Pad

D QSD

RDEC

S/RControl

D QSD

RDEC

S/RControl

1

1

F'G'

H'

DIN

F'G'

H'

DIN

F'

G'H'

H'

HFunc.Gen.

GFunc.Gen.

FFunc.Gen.

G4G3G2G1

F4F3F2F1

C4C1 C2 C3

K

Y

X

H1 DIN S/R EC

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FPGA with DSP• Altera’s Stratix II: Block Diagram

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FPGA with DSP

• Altera’s Stratix II: – DSP Detail

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FPGA with General Purpose CPU & Analog• Actel’s Fusion Family Diagram

– FPGA with ARM 7 CPU and Analog Components

Programmable Logic Summary• Discrete Gates• Packaged Logic• PLAs• Ever more general architectures of programmable combinational +

sequential logic and interconnect– Altera– Actel– Xilinx