With the development of Very-Deep Sub-Micron technologies, process variability is becoming increasingly important and is a very important issue in the design of complex circuits. Process variability is the statistical variation of process parameters, meaning that these parameters do not have always the same value, but become a random variable, with a given mean value and standard deviation. This effect can lead to several issues in digital circuit design. The logical consequence of this parameter variation is that circuit characteristics, as delay and power, also become random variables. Because of the delay variability, not all circuits will now have the same performance, but some will be faster and some slower. However, the slowest circuits may be so slow that they will not be appropriate for sale. On the other hand, the fastest circuits that could be sold for a higher price can be very leaky, and also not very appropriate for sale. A main consequence of power variability is that the power consumption of some circuits will be different than expected, reducing reliability, average life expectancy and warranty of products. Sometimes the circuits will not work at all, due to reasons associated with process variations. At the end, these effects result in lower yield and lower profitability. To understand these effects, it is necessary to study the consequences of variability in several aspects of circuit design, like logic gates, storage elements, clock distribution, and any other that can be affected by process variations. The main focus of this book will be storage elements.

Teaches you exactly how program memory content and organization is vital for computer security, especially Unix-like operating systems. You will learn how it is manipulated to take control of a computer system, as well as the countermeasures that system designers set up to avoid this. Neither a guide for hackers nor an all-out theory book, this book is ideal for anyone studying computer security who wants to learn by doing. Using a practical approach, you will understand how stack frames relate to hardware and software theory and the various GNU/Linux distributions, before moving on to Base 2, 8 and 16 notations, executables and libraries. Lastly you will go in-depth to understand the intricacies of stack frames. A vital resource for all computer security students and enthusiasts, add Stack Frames: A Look Inside to your library today. What You Will Learn In-depth knowledge on activation records of functions, and how this information can be used. A better understanding on how conventions used by compilers work. Clarify some concepts on libraries and their relationship with executable programs. Get, or recall, technical skills using compilers, debuggers, and other tools. Who This Book Is For The book is suitable for college students with a good knowledge of the C language, who are interested in deepening their study of the content and organization of program memory, namely the activation records of functions, as regards possible implications in computer security. A basic knowledge of both the Assembly language and the UNIX operating system is certainly helpful, as well as some practice with compilers and debuggers; but they are not compulsory.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th Annual Conference on Advanced Computer Architecture, ACA 2016, held in Weihai, China, in August 2016. The 17 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 89 submissions. The papers address issues such as processors and circuits; high performance computing; GPUs and accelerators; cloud and data centers; energy and reliability; intelligence computing and mobile computing.

Current advances in High Performance Computing (HPC) increasingly impact efficient software development workflows. Programmers for HPC applications need to consider trends such as increased core counts, multiple levels of parallelism, reduced memory per core, and I/O system challenges in order to derive well performing and highly scalable codes. At the same time, the increasing complexity adds further sources of program defects. While novel programming paradigms and advanced system libraries provide solutions for some of these challenges, appropriate supporting tools are indispensable. Such tools aid application developers in debugging, performance analysis, or code optimization and therefore make a major contribution to the development of robust and efficient parallel software. This book introduces a selection of the tools presented and discussed at the 7th International Parallel Tools Workshop, held in Dresden, Germany, September 3-4, 2013.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Joint 21st International Workshop on Formal Methods for Industrial Critical Systems and the 16th International Workshop on Automated Verification of Critical Systems, FMICS-AVoCS 2016, held in Pisa, Italy, in September 2016.The 11 full papers and 4 short papers presented together with one invited talk were carefully reviewed and selected from 24 submissions. They are organized in the following sections: automated verification techniques; model-based system analysis; and applications and case studies.

Takes a fresh look at basic digital design. From definition, to example, to graphic illustration, to simulation result, the book progresses through the main themes of digital design. Technically up-to-date, this book covers all the latest topics: Field programmable gate arrays, PALs and ROMs. The latest memory chips for SRAM and DRAM are shown. Software for creating the excitation equations of FSM are covered, as well as LogicWorks and Beige Bag PC and more.

This book is intended for senior undergraduate and graduate students as well as practicing engineers who are involved in design and analysis of radio frequency (RF) circuits. Fully-solved, tutorial-like examples are used to put into practice all major topics required to understand the principles underlying the main sub-circuits required to design an RF transceiver and the whole communication system. Starting with review of principles in electromagnetic (EM) transmission and signal propagation, through detailed practical analysis of RF amplifier, mixer, modulator, demodulator, and oscillator circuit topologies, all the way to the system communication theory behind the RF transceiver operation, this book systematically covers all relevant aspects in a way that is suitable for a single semester university level course. Readers will benefit from the author's sharp focus on radio receiver design, demonstrated through hundreds of fully-solved, realistic examples, as opposed to texts that cover many aspects of electronics and electromagnetic without making the required connection to wireless communication circuit design.

This book first provides a comprehensive coverage of state-of-the-art validation solutions based on real-time signal tracing to guarantee the correctness of VLSI circuits. The authors discuss several key challenges in post-silicon validation and provide automated solutions that are systematic and cost-effective. A series of automatic tracing solutions and innovative design for debug (DfD) techniques are described, including techniques for trace signal selection for enhancing visibility of functional errors, a multiplexed signal tracing strategy for improving functional error detection, a tracing solution for debugging electrical errors, an interconnection fabric for increasing data bandwidth and supporting multi-core debug, an interconnection fabric design and optimization technique to increase transfer flexibility and a DfD design and associated tracing solution for improving debug efficiency and expanding tracing window. The solutions presented in this book improve the validation quality of VLSI circuits, and ultimately enable the design and fabrication of reliable electronic devices.

This book shows readers how to develop energy-efficient algorithms and hardware architectures to enable high-definition 3D video coding on resource-constrained embedded devices. Users of the Multiview Video Coding (MVC) standard face the challenge of exploiting its 3D video-specific coding tools for increasing compression efficiency at the cost of increasing computational complexity and, consequently, the energy consumption. This book enables readers to reduce the multiview video coding energy consumption through jointly considering the algorithmic and architectural levels. Coverage includes an introduction to 3D videos and an extensive discussion of the current state-of-the-art of 3D video coding, as well as energy-efficient algorithms for 3D video coding and energy-efficient hardware architecture for 3D video coding.

This book describes scalable and near-optimal, processor-level design space exploration (DSE) methodologies. The authors present design methodologies for data storage and processing in real-time, cost-sensitive data-dominated embedded systems. Readers will be enabled to reduce time-to-market, while satisfying system requirements for performance, area, and energy consumption, thereby minimizing the overall cost of the final design.

This book equips readers with tools for computer architecture of high performance, low power, and high reliability memory hierarchy in computer systems based on emerging memory technologies, such as STTRAM, PCM, FBDRAM, etc. The techniques described offer advantages of high density, near-zero static power, and immunity to soft errors, which have the potential of overcoming the "memory wall." The authors discuss memory design from various perspectives: emerging memory technologies are employed in the memory hierarchy with novel architecture modification; hybrid memory structure is introduced to leverage advantages from multiple memory technologies; an analytical model named "Moguls" is introduced to explore quantitatively the optimization design of a memory hierarchy; finally, the vulnerability of the CMPs to radiation-based soft errors is improved by replacing different levels of on-chip memory with STT-RAMs.

This book analyzes energy and reliability as major challenges faced by designers of computing frameworks in the nanometer technology regime. The authors describe the existing solutions to address these challenges and then reveal a new reconfigurable computing platform, which leverages high-density nanoscale memory for both data storage and computation to maximize the energy-efficiency and reliability. The energy and reliability benefits of this new paradigm are illustrated and the design challenges are discussed. Various hardware and software aspects of this exciting computing paradigm are described, particularly with respect to hardware-software co-designed frameworks, where the hardware unit can be reconfigured to mimic diverse application behavior. Finally, the energy-efficiency of the paradigm described is compared with other, well-known reconfigurable computing platforms.

This book opens the door to a new interesting and ambitious world of reversible and quantum computing research. It presents the state of the art required to travel around that world safely. Top world universities, companies and government institutions are in a race of developing new methodologies, algorithms and circuits on reversible logic, quantum logic, reversible and quantum computing and nano-technologies. In this book, twelve reversible logic synthesis methodologies are presented for the first time in a single literature with some new proposals. Also, the sequential reversible logic circuitries are discussed for the first time in a book. Reversible logic plays an important role in quantum computing. Any progress in the domain of reversible logic can be directly applied to quantum logic. One of the goals of this book is to show the application of reversible logic in quantum computing. A new implementation of wavelet and multiwavelet transforms using quantum computing is performed for this purpose. Researchers in academia or industry and graduate students, who work in logic synthesis, quantum computing, nano-technology, and low power VLSI circuit design, will be interested in this book.

This book covers key concepts in the design of 2D and 3D Network-on-Chip interconnect. It highlights design challenges and discusses fundamentals of NoC technology, including architectures, algorithms and tools. Coverage focuses on topology exploration for both 2D and 3D NoCs, routing algorithms, NoC router design, NoC-based system integration, verification and testing, and NoC reliability. Case studies are used to illuminate new design methodologies.

This book describes the most recent techniques for turbo decoder implementation, especially for 4G and beyond 4G applications. The authors reveal techniques for the design of high-throughput decoders for future telecommunication systems, enabling designers to reduce hardware cost and shorten processing time. Coverage includes an explanation of VLSI implementation of the turbo decoder, from basic functional units to advanced parallel architecture. The authors discuss both hardware architecture techniques and experimental results, showing the variations in area/throughput/performance with respect to several techniques. This book also illustrates turbo decoders for 3GPP-LTE/LTE-A and IEEE 802.16e/m standards, which provide a low-complexity but high-flexibility circuit structure to support these standards in multiple parallel modes. Moreover, some solutions that can overcome the limitation upon the speedup of parallel architecture by modification to turbo codec are presented here. Compared to the traditional designs, these methods can lead to at most 33% gain in throughput with similar performance and similar cost.

This book describes the various tradeoffs systems designers face when designing embedded memory. Readers designing multi-core systems and systems on chip will benefit from the discussion of different topics from memory architecture, array organization, circuit design techniques and design for test. The presentation enables a multi-disciplinary approach to chip design, which bridges the gap between the architecture level and circuit level, in order to address yield, reliability and power-related issues for embedded memory.

This book introduces a new level of abstraction that closes the gap between the textual specification of embedded systems and the executable model at the Electronic System Level (ESL). Readers will be enabled to operate at this new, Formal Specification Level (FSL), using models which not only allow significant verification tasks in this early stage of the design flow, but also can be extracted semi-automatically from the textual specification in an interactive manner. The authors explain how to use these verification tasks to check conceptual properties, e.g. whether requirements are in conflict, as well as dynamic behavior, in terms of execution traces.

This book describes novel methods for network-on-chip (NoC) design, using source-synchronous high-speed resonant clocks. The authors discuss NoCs from the bottom up, providing circuit level details, before providing architectural simulations. As a result, readers will get a complete picture of how a NoC can be designed and optimized. Using the methods described in this book, readers are enabled to design NoCs that are 5X better than existing approaches in terms of latency and throughput and can also sustain a significantly greater amount of traffic.

The book addresses the need to investigate new approaches to lower energy requirement in multiple application areas and serves as a guide into emerging circuit technologies. It explores revolutionary device concepts, sensors, and associated circuits and architectures that will greatly extend the practical engineering limits of energy-efficient computation. The book responds to the need to develop disruptive new system architectures and semiconductor processes aimed at achieving the highest level of computational energy efficiency for general purpose computing systems. Discusses unique technologies and material only available in specialized journal and conferences. Covers emerging materials and device structures, such as ultra-low power technologies, nanoelectronics, and microsystem manufacturing. Explores semiconductor processing and manufacturing, device design, and performance. Contains practical applications in the engineering field, as well as graduate studies. Written by international experts from both academia and industry.

"Modern Compiler Design" makes the topic of compiler design more accessible by focusing on principles and techniques of wide application. By carefully distinguishing between the essential (material that has a high chance of being useful) and the incidental (material that will be of benefit only in exceptional cases) much useful information was packed in this comprehensive volume. The student who has finished this book can expect to understand the workings of and add to a language processor for each of the modern paradigms, and be able to read the literature on how to proceed. The first provides a firm basis, the second potential for growth.

This book is a comprehensive guide to assertion-based verification of hardware designs using System Verilog Assertions (SVA). It enables readers to minimize the cost of verification by using assertion-based techniques in simulation testing, coverage collection and formal analysis. The book provides detailed descriptions of all the language features of SVA, accompanied by step-by-step examples of how to employ them to construct powerful and reusable sets of properties. The book also shows how SVA fits into the broader System Verilog language, demonstrating the ways that assertions can interact with other System Verilog components. The reader new to hardware verification will benefit from general material describing the nature of design models and behaviors, how they are exercised, and the different roles that assertions play. This second edition covers the features introduced by the recent IEEE 1800-2012. System Verilog standard, explaining in detail the new and enhanced assertion constructs. The book makes SVA usable and accessible for hardware designers, verification engineers, formal verification specialists and EDA tool developers. With numerous exercises, ranging in depth and difficulty, the book is also suitable as a text for students.

This book provides an overview of modern boot firmware, including the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) and its associated EFI Developer Kit II (EDKII) firmware. The authors have each made significant contributions to developments in these areas. The reader will learn to use the latest developments in UEFI on modern hardware, including open source firmware and open hardware designs. The book begins with an exploration of interfaces exposed to higher-level software and operating systems, and commences to the left of the boot timeline, describing the flow of typical systems, beginning with the machine restart event. Software engineers working with UEFI will benefit greatly from this book, while specific sections of the book address topics relevant for a general audience: system architects, pre-operating-system application developers, operating system vendors (loader, kernel), independent hardware vendors (such as for plug-in adapters), and developers of end-user applications. As a secondary audience, project technical leaders or managers may be interested in this book to get a feel for what their engineers are doing. The reader will find: An overview of UEFI and underlying Platform Initialization (PI) specifications How to create UEFI applications and drivers Workflow to design the firmware solution for a modern platform Advanced usages of UEFI firmware for security and manageability

With 26 entirely new and 5 extensively revised chapters out of the total of 39, the Mobile Communications Handbook, Third Edition presents an in-depth and up-to-date overview of the full range of wireless and mobile technologies that we rely on every day. This includes, but is not limited to, everything from digital cellular mobile radio and evolving personal communication systems to wireless data and wireless networks Illustrating the extraordinary evolution of wireless communications and networks in the last 15 years, this book is divided into five sections: Basic Principles provides the essential underpinnings for the wide-ranging mobile communication technologies currently in use throughout the world. Wireless Standards contains technical details of the standards we use every day, as well as insights into their development. Source Compression and Quality Assessment covers the compression techniques used to represent voice and video for transmission over mobile communications systems as well as how the delivered voice and video quality are assessed. Wireless Networks examines the wide range of current and developing wireless networks and wireless methodologies. Emerging Applications explores newly developed areas of vehicular communications and 60 GHz wireless communications. Written by experts from industry and academia, this book provides a succinct overview of each topic, quickly bringing the reader up to date, but with sufficient detail and references to enable deeper investigations. Providing much more than a "just the facts" presentation, contributors use their experience in the field to provide insights into how each topic has emerged and to point toward forthcoming developments in mobile communications.

High-Performance Computing using FPGA covers the area of high performance reconfigurable computing (HPRC). This book provides an overview of architectures, tools and applications for High-Performance Reconfigurable Computing (HPRC). FPGAs offer very high I/O bandwidth and fine-grained, custom and flexible parallelism and with the ever-increasing computational needs coupled with the frequency/power wall, the increasing maturity and capabilities of FPGAs, and the advent of multicore processors which has caused the acceptance of parallel computational models. The Part on architectures will introduce different FPGA-based HPC platforms: attached co-processor HPRC architectures such as the CHREC's Novo-G and EPCC's Maxwell systems; tightly coupled HRPC architectures, e.g. the Convey hybrid-core computer; reconfigurably networked HPRC architectures, e.g. the QPACE system, and standalone HPRC architectures such as EPFL's CONFETTI system. The Part on Tools will focus on high-level programming approaches for HPRC, with chapters on C-to-Gate tools (such as Impulse-C, AutoESL, Handel-C, MORA-C++); Graphical tools (MATLAB-Simulink, NI LabVIEW); Domain-specific languages, languages for heterogeneous computing(for example OpenCL, Microsoft's Kiwi and Alchemy projects). The part on Applications will present case from several application domains where HPRC has been used successfully, such as Bioinformatics and Computational Biology; Financial Computing; Stencil computations; Information retrieval; Lattice QCD; Astrophysics simulations; Weather and climate modeling.

This book covers layout design and layout migration methodologies for optimizing multi-net wire structures in advanced VLSI interconnects. Scaling-dependent models for interconnect power, interconnect delay and crosstalk noise are covered in depth, and several design optimization problems are addressed, such as minimization of interconnect power under delay constraints, or design for minimal delay in wire bundles within a given routing area. A handy reference or a guide for design methodologies and layout automation techniques, this book provides a foundation for physical design challenges of interconnect in advanced integrated circuits.