Approximate compressors for error-resilient multiplier design

Approximate circuit design is an innovative paradigm for error-resilient image and signal processing applications. Multiplication is often a fundamental function for many of these applications. In this paper, three approximate compressors are proposed with an accuracy constraint for the partial product reduction (PPR) in a multiplier. Both approximation and truncation are considered in the approximate multiplier design. An image sharpening algorithm is then investigated as an application of the proposed multiplier designs. Extensive simulation results show that the proposed designs achieve significant reductions in area and power while achieving a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR > 35 dB), compared to their exact counterparts as well as other approximate multipliers.