Cellular array-based delay-insensitive asynchronous circuits design and test for nanocomputing systems

J Di, PK Lala - Journal of Electronic Testing, 2007 - Springer
J Di, PK Lala
Journal of Electronic Testing, 2007Springer
This paper presents the design, layout, and testability analysis of delay-insensitive circuits
on cellular arrays for nanocomputing system design. In delay-insensitive circuits the delay
on a signal path does not affect the correctness of circuit behavior. The combination of delay-
insensitive circuit style and cellular arrays is a useful step to implement nanocomputing
systems. In the approach proposed in this paper the circuit expressions corresponding to a
design are first converted into Reed–Muller forms and then implemented using delay …
Abstract
This paper presents the design, layout, and testability analysis of delay-insensitive circuits on cellular arrays for nanocomputing system design. In delay-insensitive circuits the delay on a signal path does not affect the correctness of circuit behavior. The combination of delay-insensitive circuit style and cellular arrays is a useful step to implement nanocomputing systems. In the approach proposed in this paper the circuit expressions corresponding to a design are first converted into Reed–Muller forms and then implemented using delay-insensitive Reed–Muller cells. The design and layout of the Reed–Muller cell using primitives has been described in detail. The effects of stuck-at faults in both delay-insensitive primitives and gates have been analyzed. Since circuits implemented in Reed–Muller forms constructed by the Reed–Muller cells can be easily tested offline, the proposed approach for delay-insensitive circuit design improves a circuit’s testability. Potential physical implementation of cellular arrays and its area overhead are also discussed.
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