Dynamic FPGA routing for just-in-time FPGA compilation

Just-in-time (JIT) compilation has previously been used in many applications to enable standard software binaries to execute on different underlying processor architectures. However, embedded systems increasingly incorporate Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), for which the concept of a standard hardware binary did not previously exist, requiring designers to implement a hardware circuit for a single specific FPGA. We introduce the concept of a standard hardware binary, using a just-in-time compiler to compile the hardware binary to an FPGA. A JIT compiler for FPGAs requires the development of lean versions of technology mapping, placement, and routing algorithms, of which routing is the most computationally and memory expensive step. We present the Riverside On-Chip Router (ROCR) designed to efficiently route a hardware circuit for a simple configurable logic fabric that we have developed. Through experiments with MCNC benchmark hardware circuits, we show that ROCR works well for...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: DAC
• Authors: Roman L. Lysecky, Frank Vahid, Sheldon X.-D. Tan
• Keywords: Benchmark Hardware Circuits, DAC 2004, Design Automation, JIT FPGA Compilation, Standard Hardware