On the notion of the normal form register-level structures and its applications in design-space exploration

The notion of the normal form structural (NFS) implementation of an algorithmic behavioral specification is introduced. The NFS implementation of a behavioral specification is shown to be unique among all the register transfer (RT) level structures implementing the specification. An algorithm to transform a given structure into the equivalent normal form structure is presented. The notion of the NFS implementations is used in proving the completeness of a set of RT-level transformations. On the practical side, the NFS is used as a reference structure with respect to which the performance of other behaviorally equivalent structures is measured