AUTOMATIC SYNTHESIS OF FAST, COMPACT SELF-TIMED STATE MACHINES

Abstract

An automated synthesis tool, called the "Most Excellent Asynchronous Tool", or MEAT is presented. This tool has been used to specify and synthesize asynchronous finite state machines (AFSMs) for a fully self-timed 300,000 transistor communication co-processor called the Post Office. The specification is done with stylized state diagrams with a restricted form of multiple input change constraints called burst-mode. This is a very compact and intuitive means to specify communication, concurrency, and synchronization necessary for control structures. Of primary importance to this project was the efficiency and simplicity of the implementation. The tool generates from the state description self-timed CMOS implementations with outstanding performance and compactness. When burst-mode is coupled with a timing inequality, the circuits can be verified as hazard free.