AnARM - low power highly testable asynchronous processor

微处理器现在是许多电子设备的常见部件，从简单的微波炉到功能最强大的计算机。从这种无处不在的计算机化来看，两大应用领域以惊人的增长率脱颖而出：移动电子设备和数据中心。虽然它们在物理上相距遥远，但它们的扩张是以推拉动量联系在一起的。更高的移动计算能力支持更高级的应用，而这反过来又要求更大的数据中心配备越来越多的服务器。此外，先进的移动应用是电子设备制造商和数据服务提供商强大的市场增长动力。 在不断提高处理能力的螺旋上升过程中，人们不能忘记对能源需求的影响。对于移动设备或服务器群，处理单元的功率/能量消耗已成为一个关键问题。作为移动设备的内在结果，能源消耗受到电池容量的限制。因此，便携式设备消耗的能量越少，其自主性就越长。在数据中心方面，当数以千计的计算机在服务器仓库中连接在一起时，即使单个处理器在电力上略有节省，也会带来规模经济的重大收益。获得更节能的处理设备的持续竞争是当前大多数硅设计的核心。 在此提出的项目站在更大的处理能力和能源消耗之间的十字路口。 通过利用异步和自定时集成电路设计，我们打算开发具有更强的计算能力和更低的能源需求的新一代微处理器。

Microprocessors are now common components in many electronic devices, from simple microwave ovens to the most potent computer. From this ubiquitous computerization, two major fields of application stand out with remarkable growth rates: mobile electronic devices and data centers. Although physically afar from each other, their expansion are linked in a push-pull momentum. More mobile computing power enables more advanced applications which, in-turn, demands larger data centers equipped with more and more servers. Moreover, advanced mobile applications are powerful market growth drivers for electronic device manufacturers and data service providers. In the upward spiral towards ever increasing processing power, one must not forget about the impact on energy requirement. For a mobile device or a server farm, the power/energy consumption of processing units has become a critical issue. As an intrinsic consequence for mobile devices, energy consumption is limited by the battery capacities. Hence, the less energy is consumed by a portable device, the longer will be its autonomy. On the data center side, when thousands of computers are linked together in a server warehouse, even a little saving on power for a single processor will result in a major gain with the economies of scale. A constant competition to get more energy efficient processing devices is at the center of most current silicon designs. The hereby proposed project stands at the crossroad between more processing power and energy consumption. By leveraging asynchronous and self-timed integrated circuit design, we intend to develop a new generation of microprocessors granted with enhanced computing capabilities and lower energy requirements.