Oscillator-Based MAC Circuit Without Shift-and-Add Hardware
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic circuits for multiply-and-accumulate operations in digital signal processing require dedicated shift and add circuits or area-intensive analog current-mirrors, which are inefficient and costly in terms of space and time.
Innovation Solution
An electronic circuit comprising a multiplier circuit, an oscillator circuit, and a digital counter circuit that performs multiplication, generates frequency-dependent output pulses, and selectively increments counter bits based on input bit significance, enabling efficient shift-and-add operations without dedicated hardware.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If dedicated shift and add circuits are used for matrix-vector multiplication, then multiplication accuracy is improved, but circuit area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the shift and add operations from dedicated hardware circuits and implements them through software algorithms running on a processor. The matrix-vector multiplication is performed by reading conductance values from memory, converting them to digital values, and performing the multiply-accumulate operations through software-based shift and add instructions, eliminating the need for specialized hardware circuits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/electrical hardware system (dedicated shift and add circuits) with a software-based computational system. The processor executes software instructions that perform the same mathematical operations using general-purpose arithmetic logic units, substituting specialized hardware with flexible software control.
2Speed
If analog current-mirrors are used for multiplication, then computational speed is improved, but circuit area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the analog current-mirror multiplication function and replaces it with digital computation. The conductance values are read from memory as analog signals, converted to digital values by ADCs, and then processed through software-based multiply-accumulate operations, removing the need for area-intensive analog current-mirror circuits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the analog electrical system (current-mirrors) with a digital software-based system. The multiplication operation is performed through software algorithms that use digital arithmetic operations, replacing the continuous analog current manipulation with discrete digital computation.
3Measurement precision
If voltage-based ADC is used for quantization, then quantization accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a unified digital processing architecture where the same processor and software infrastructure handles both the ADC control and the subsequent quantization processing. The processor executes software routines that manage the conversion process and perform the quantization operations, providing a universal platform that reduces overall system complexity despite the precision requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic circuit and a method of making the same includes a multiplier circuit configured to perform a multiplication of a first input signal with a second input signal. The first input signal is a binary input signal that includes a sequence of input bits. The electronic circuit further includes an oscillator circuit configured to receive a result signal of the multiplication from the multiplier and to provide output pulses having an output frequency which is dependent on the result signal of the multiplication and a digital counter circuit configured to count the output pulses. The digital counter circuit is configured to provide a plurality of counter bits and to select one of the plurality of counter bits for incrementation in dependence on a significance of the corresponding input bit of the sequence of input bits.