Processors & Computing Systems

Custom graph processor with different components: CPU with its Instruction Cache, SPM Controller, Request Arbiter, Non-blocking Cache, MSHR Controller, and RAM Storage.

Specialized hardware accelerators and custom processors can significantly improve computing systems' performance and power efficiency. Specific hardware accelerators for different applications and configurable architecture templates optimized for custom applications are important. The proposed architectures need to address the limitations of the existing multi-core CPU and GPU architectures for these new types of applications. Embedded systems and low-power execution scenarios are specifically targeted in custom hardware design. Our research covers various implementations focusing on reliability, power, and performance improvements. For example, we implemented a Domain-Specific Processor that extends the RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA) with custom instructions. The memory-centric custom instructions enable the underlying architecture to utilize the cache system efficiently without limiting the programmability provided by ISA. On the other hand, it is adaptable because it can process different complicated graph algorithms without changing the underlying architecture, provided that the custom instructions are effectively utilized. This kind of implementation can utilize different hardware description languages (HDLs) levels, including Verilog, SystemC, or Chisel.

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