A Configurable IP Core for Calculating the Integer Square Root for Serial and Parallel Implementations in FPGA

Abstract

The development of digital technologies is in many ways associated with an improvement of integrated technologies, microelectronic components, and the capabilities of hardware acceleration of the most computationally complex operations. Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are actively used for prototyping or the small-scale production of special purpose digital signal processing (DSP) devices. The implementation of DSP algorithms is variative in nature and affects important indicators of a produced device, such as the accuracy of the numerical solution, performance, structural/functional complexity, etc. The architectural features of the FPGA can be used for choosing an effective DSP algorithm in the form of solving the multicriteria discrete optimization problem. This paper analyzes and selects an effective algorithm for calculating the integer square root, which is one of the most frequently used digital signal processing operations. A behavioral model based on a non-restoring algorithm is presented. The SystemVerilog description of the module for calculating the square root, presented in the form of a universal configurable IP core, has been developed and synthesized. The configuration allows one to change the width of the input data bus and select the serial or parallel processing mode for scalar or vector data. The results of testing and comparison of the obtained characteristics with the corresponding Xilinx Cordic IP core are presented. The field test of the proposed IP core implemented in the Xilinx FPGA SOC xc7z045ffg900-2 has demonstrated the gain in the maximum system frequency at 174 MHz in the sequential mode with a 48-bit input bus and 169 MHz in the pipelined mode at a reduction of both the structural complexity and the number of used FPGA internal resources in comparison with the Xilinx Cordic IP core.