A programmable ternary CPU using hybrid CMOS/memristor circuits. Issue 4 (4th July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wust, Daniel; Fey, Dietmar; Knödtel, Johannes
• Is Part Of: International journal of parallel, emergent and distributed systems. Volume 33:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 387
• Page End: 407
• Publication Date: 2018-07-04
• Subjects: Signed-digit arithmetic -- memristors -- multi-bit storage -- general purpose CPU -- ternary computer; Parallel computers -- Periodicals; Electronic data processing -- Distributed processing -- Periodicals; Computer algorithms -- Periodicals; 004.35
• DOI: 10.1080/17445760.2017.1422251
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-5760

Abstract

Abstract: The carry propagation of arithmetic operations is one of the major shortcomings of common binary number encodings as the two's complement. Signed-digit arithmetic allows the addition of two numbers without carry propagation and in asymptotically constant time in dependence of the word length, while at the same time requiring a digit representation with more than two states. With the advent of memristors, it has become possible to store multiple states within a single memory cell. This paper proposes an implementation of a general purpose CPU using signed-digit arithmetic by exploiting memristors in order to implement multi-value registers. The proposed model of the CPU is evaluated by the execution of various image processing algorithms. It is shown that a break-even point exists at which signed-digit algorithms outperform conventional binary arithmetic operations. Furthermore, simulation results prove that the memristor device lends itself to store signed-digit data efficiently. Graphical Abstract: Measurement of memristors behavior to store multiple discrete values. Below 5 k the digit 1 is coded, between 5 and 12.5 k the digit 0, and above 12.5 k the digit 1.