DFLAP: A dynamic frequency linear array processor

In this paper, a novel dynamic frequency based SIMD linear array processor (DFLAP) for image processing applications is proposed. The operating clock frequency of the processor is varied dynamically between 400 MHz and 50 MHz based on the operation performed in order to enhance the processor throughput. An efficient implementation for the dynamic clocking unit (DCU) which enables dynamic switching of clock frequencies is presented. Each processing element in the linear array contains an 8-bit arithmetic/logic unit, an 8×8 single-cycle multiplier, a shifter, a bidirectional neighbor communication unit, a 32×8 dual port SRAM, and a DCU. The architecture was designed and implemented using CADENCE design tools. Several low-level image processing tasks have been mapped onto the architecture to demonstrate the effectiveness of the dynamic frequency based architecture.