A multimicroprocessor system with distributed common memory for real-time digital correlation and spectrum analysis

In this paper software and hardware design of a tightly-coupled multimicroprocessor system with distributed common memory and private memory modules, to compute the values of auto- and cross-correlation functions, to recover signals buried in noise and to compute cross- and auto-power spectral density at 128 points simultaneously on the time delay axis or frequency axis, are described. This multimicroprocessor system has two 16-bit micro-processor boards, a single common bus, a centralized common-memory (CMO) and necessary arbitration logic circuits. To each microprocessor board, a distributed common memory, a private memory, I/O and common-memory-access control circuits are added. The addressing scheme is designed such that any common-memory cell has the same address for all the microprocessors. These software and hardware mechanisms suit the present signal processing application well. The computed results are displayed on an oscilloscope or X-Y recorder.