A Flexible Datapath Interconnect for Embedded Applications

We investigate the effects of introducing a flexible interconnect into an exposed datapath. We define an exposed datapath as a traditional GPP datapath that has its normal control removed, leading to the exposure of a wide control word. For an FFT benchmark, the introduction of a flexible interconnects reduces the total execution time by 16%. Compared to a traditional GPP, the execution time for an exposed datapath using a flexible interconnect is 32% shorter whereas the energy dissipation is 29% lower. Our investigation is based on a cycle-accurate architectural simulator and figures on delay, power, and area are obtained from placed-and-routed layouts in a commercial 0.13-mum technology. The results from our case studies indicate that by utilizing a flexible interconnect, significant performance gains can be achieved for generic applications.