VLSI

14 Future of Asynchronous Logic

Scott C. Smith and Jia Di

Contents

14.1 Introduction

14.2 Modern Asynchronous Logic

14.2.1 NULL Convention Logic

14.2.2 Precharge Half Buffers

14.3 Asynchronous Circuits in Industry

14.4 The Next 10 Years

References

14.1 Introduction

The 2012 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) [1] states that asynchronous circuits currently account for 22% of logic within the multibillion dollar semiconductor industry, and predicts that this percentage will more than double over the next 10 years. Asynchronous logic has been around for the past 50+ years, but, until recently, synchronous circuits have been good enough to meet industry needs, so asynchronous circuits were primarily utilized for niche ...