PCA-1: a fully asynchronous, self-reconfigurable LSI

Abstract

This paper describes the asynchronous device features of PCA-1, which is the first VLSI to realize the Plastic Cell Architecture (PCA). PCA is an autonomously reconfigurable hardware architecture consisting of a programmable logic layer and a network of built-in facilities. To realize run-time generation and the deletion of circuit objects with variable grain, the circuits on the logic layer are programmed as self-timed circuits using Look-Up Tables (LUTs). The built-in facilities of PCA-1 are also designed as self-timed circuits to enhance scalability and to minimize power consumption. LSI chips are successfully fabricated, and experimental results are mentioned.