Request-Driven GALS Technique for Wireless Communication System

A Globally Asynchronous - Locally Synchronous (GALS) technique for application in wireless communication systems is proposed and evaluated. The GALS wrappers are based on a request-driven operation with an embedded time-out function. A formally verified GALS wrapper is deployed for the ‘GALSification’ of a baseband processor for WLAN. Details of the GALS partitioning, implementation and the design-flow are discussed. Furthermore, a test strategy based on built-in self-test (BIST) is suggested. The described baseband processor was fabricated and successfully tested. The GALS design is compared with a clock-gated, synchronous version. Advantages for system integration are achieved along with a 1% reduction in dynamic power consumption, a 30% reduction in peak power supply current, and 5 dB reduction in spectral noise.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: ASYNC
• Authors: Milos Krstic, Eckhard Grass, Christian Stahl
• Keywords: ASYNC 2005, Baseband Processor, GALS, Gals Wrapper, Hardware