Design of asynchronous MSP430 microprocessor using balsa back-end retargeting

Balsa developed by Advanced Processor Technology (APT) Group of Manchester University presents robust design environment that supports both a framework for synthesizing asynchronous hardware systems and the language for describing such systems. In this paper, a design of microprocessor, MSP430, in balsa language and the functional verification of the controller is presented. Back-end retargeting is performed as a part of the design methodology in balsa. By back-end retargeting procedure, a new technology library including FPGA cell library is incorporated into Balsa design environment. Moreover, the circuit area is analyzed and reduced in different implementation styles by replacing helpercells in balsa into standard cells of the target library.