A dot product kernel using rapidly switched analog circuit

Nahlus, Ihab

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/88010 Copy

Description

Title

A dot product kernel using rapidly switched analog circuit

Author(s)

Nahlus, Ihab

Issue Date

2015-07-13

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Shanbhag, Naresh R.

Department of Study

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Discipline

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Date of Ingest

2015-09-29T20:38:09Z

Keyword(s)

• low energy
• mixed-signal
• dot product

Abstract

In a world driven by technology and hand-held devices, there is ubiquitous demand for high-performance, low-energy processing engines. In this thesis, we present rapidly switched analog circuit (RSAC), a new circuit architecture, to implement an energy-efficient mixed-signal dot product (DP) kernel for machine learning and signal processing applications. RSAC operates by fast switching the analog inputs to the output via variable width digital pulses. A description of the different components of RSAC, along with a detailed accuracy and energy consumption analysis is presented. We show two RSAC designs that span the different design options and technology nodes. Simulations for the first design in a 130 nm process show energy savings of 19x to 32x compared to a digital implementation for signal-to-quantization-noise ratios (SQNRs) of 30 dB to 24 dB, respectively. Simulations for the second design in a 28 nm FDSOI process show energy savings of 15.7x, 4x, 2.1x compared to a digital implementation running at the same sampling frequency for SQNRs of 8 dB, 14 dB and 20 dB, respectively. Finally, we present the design of an emotion recognition system composed solely of SAC-based dot-products. Based on the behavioral and energy models developed in this thesis, we obtain energy savings of 45% and 49% compared to a digital implementation for average probabilities of error of 0.23 and 0.07, running at frequencies of 1.87 MHz and 1.7 MHz, respectively.

Graduation Semester

2015-8

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/88010

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2015 Ihab Nahlus

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