Automatic Synthesis of Extended Burst-Mode Circuits: Part II (Automatic Synthesis)

We introduce a new design style called extended burst-mode. The extended burst-mode design style covers a wide spectrum of sequential circuits ranging from delay-insensitive to synchronous. We can synthesize multiple-input change asynchronous finite state machines, and many circuits that fall in the gray area (hard to classify as synchronous or asynchronous) which are difficult or impossible to synthesize automatically using existing methods. Our implementation of extended burst-mode machines uses standard CMOS logic, generates low-latency outputs, and guarantees freedom from hazards at the gate level. In Part II, we present a complete set of automated sequential synthesis algorithms: hazard-free state assignment, hazard-free state minimization, and critical-race-free state encoding. Experimental data from a large set of examples are presented and compared to competing methods, whenever possible. Keywords— Asynchronous controller, Extended burst-mode, Automatic synthesis