Bitwise MAC Pipeline Architecture for Compact Accumulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multiplier-accumulators (MACs) are inefficient and require separate units for multiplication and accumulation, occupying significant chip real estate and limiting pipelining efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A bit-wise multiplier-accumulator unit that integrates multiplication and accumulation operations within a single unit, performing bit-wise multiplication and carry/sum operations in parallel, allowing pipelining and efficient use of chip resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If separate units for multiplication and accumulation are used, then the MAC operation can be performed, but chip real estate is significantly occupied and pipelining efficiency is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the multiplier and accumulator into a single integrated unit that performs both multiplication and accumulation operations simultaneously. The bit-wise multiplier-accumulator receives multiplicand A and multiplicand B, performs bit-wise multiplication to generate partial products, and accumulates these partial products through carry propagation logic all within one unified structure, eliminating the need for separate multiplier and accumulator units and thereby reducing chip area while enabling efficient pipelining
2Device complexity
If separate units for multiplication and accumulation are used, then the MAC operation can be performed, but the unit complexity increases and resource utilization is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the multiplication and accumulation operations into bit-wise processing stages. The bit-wise multiplier processes each bit position independently to generate partial products, while the accumulator uses carry propagation logic to sum these partial products. This segmentation allows the integrated unit to handle multiple operations in parallel, reducing overall unit complexity while improving resource utilization through efficient bitwise parallelism
Data Source
AI summary
A unit for accumulating a plurality of multiplied bit values includes a first row and a second row of input units, a bit-wise multiplier and a bit-wise accumulator. The first row receives a pipeline of the bits of a multiplicand A and the second row, to the left of the first row, receives a pipeline of the bits of a multiplicand B. The bit-wise multiplier, below the first row of input units, includes multiplier bit-line processors formed into rows and columns. Some rows of the bit-wise multiplier bit-wise multiplies bits of a current multiplicand A with one bit of a current multiplicand B and some rows of the bit-wise multiplier handle sum and carry values between the bits. The bit-wise accumulator, to the right of the bit-wise multiplier, includes a column of accumulator bit-line processors. Each accumulator bit-line processor accumulates output of a row of the bit-wise multiplier.