Publications by Xifan Tang | EPFL Graph Search

A Product Engine for Energy-Efficient Execution of Binary Neural Networks Using Resistive Memories

David Atienza Alonso, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon, Edouard Giacomin, Marina Zapater Sancho, Yasir Mahmood Qureshi, João Miguel Morgado Pereira Vieira

The need for running complex Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), in edge devices, which are highly constrained in terms of computing power and energy, makes it important to execute such applications efficiently. ...

2019

FPGA-SPICE: A Simulation-Based Architecture Evaluation Framework for FPGAs

Giovanni De Micheli, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon, Edouard Giacomin

In this paper, we developed a simulation-based architecture evaluation framework for field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), called FPGA-SPICE, which enables automatic layout-level estimation and electrical simulations of FPGA architectures. FPGA-SPICE can ...

2018

Resistive random access memory based multiplexers and field programmable gate arrays

Giovanni De Micheli, Gain Kim, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon, Edouard Giacomin

Resistive random access memory (RRAM) based multiplexers and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are provided. The RRAM-based multiplexers and FPGAs include a 4T1R programming structure to program the RRAMs. The programming structure includes two progra ...

2018

Post-P&R Performance and Power Analysis for RRAM-based FPGAs

Giovanni De Micheli, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon, Edouard Giacomin

Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM)-based FPGAs are predicted to outperform conventional FPGAs architectures in area, delay and power over a wide range of voltage operations, allowing novel energy-quality trade-offs for reconfigurable computing. The oppo ...

2018

Circuit Design, Architecture and CAD for RRAM-based FPGAs

Xifan Tang

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have been indispensable components of embedded systems and datacenter infrastructures. However, energy efficiency of FPGAs has become a hard barrier preventing their expansion to more application contexts, due to two ...

EPFL2017

Circuit Designs of High-Performance and Low-Power RRAM-Based Multiplexers Based on 4T(ransistor)1R(RAM) Programming Structure

Giovanni De Micheli, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon, Edouard Giacomin

Routing multiplexers based on pass-transistors or transmission gates are an essential components in many digital integrated circuits. However, whatever structure is employed, CMOS multiplexers have two major limitations: 1) their delay is linearly related ...

Ieee-Inst Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc2017

Improving Circuit Mapping Performance Through MIG-based Synthesis for Carry Chains

Paolo Ienne, Giovanni De Micheli, Ana Petkovska, Grace Zgheib, Luca Gaetano Amarù, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon, Mathias Soeken, Zhufei Chu

Hard-wired carry chains in FPGAs are designed to improve efficiency of important arithmetic primitives. Although they are proven to be effective for arithmetic-rich functions, there are very few studies on the optimization opportunities of carry chains for ...

ACM2017

Physical Design Considerations of One-level RRAM-based Routing Multiplexers

Giovanni De Micheli, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon, Edouard Giacomin

Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) technology opens the opportunity for granting both high-performance and low- power features to routing multiplexers. In this paper, we study the physical design considerations related to RRAM- based routing mult ...

ACM2017

A High-performance FPGA Architecture Using One-Level RRAM-based Multiplexers

Giovanni De Micheli, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM)-based routing multiplexers, built using a one-level structure, are significantly more delay efficient than state-of-art SRAM-based implementations thanks to their lower achievable on-state resistance. In addition, the ...

2017

Optimization Opportunities in RRAM-based FPGA Architectures

Giovanni De Micheli, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

Static Random Access Memory (SRAM)-based routing multiplexers, whatever structure is employed, share a common limitation: their area, delay and power increase linearly with the input size. This property results in most SRAM-based FPGA architectures ...

IEEE2017

High-performance low-power near-vt resistive memory-based fpga

Giovanni De Micheli, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) of the island-type comprising a plurality of cluster-based Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs), whereby each of the cluster-based CLBs is surrounded by a global routing structure formed by a plurality of multiplexers and ...

2016

Pattern-based fpga logic block and clustering algorithm

Giovanni De Micheli, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

A routing architecture for fast interconnections between Look-Up Tables (LUTs) in a group of Basic Logic Elements (BLEs), whereby a size of the group ranges from 1 to k+1, where k is the number of inputs of a LUT, and LUTs in the group are indexed from 1 t ...

2016

A Study on the Programming Structures for RRAM-based FPGA Architectures

Giovanni De Micheli, Gain Kim, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) can benefit non-volatility and high-performance by exploiting Resistive Random Access Memories (RRAMs). In RRAM-based FPGAs, the memories do not only replace the SRAMs and store configurations, but they can also repla ...

Ieee-Inst Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc2016

A Novel FPGA Architecture based on Ultra-Fine Grain Reconfigurable Logic Cells

Giovanni De Micheli, Gain Kim, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

In this paper, we investigate the opportunity brought by controllable-polarity transistors to design efficient reconfigurable circuits. Controllable-polarity transistors are devices whose polarity can be electrostatically programmed to be either n- or p-ty ...

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers2015

A Study on Buffer Distribution for RRAM-based FPGA Routing Structures

Giovanni De Micheli, Somayyeh Rahimian Omam, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

Compared to Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) provide reconfigurablity at the cost of lower performance and higher power consumption. Exploiting a large number of programmable switche ...

IEEE2015

Towards More Efficient Logic Blocks by Exploiting Biconditional Expansion

Giovanni De Micheli, Gain Kim, Luca Gaetano Amarù, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

Nowadays, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) exploit Look-Up Tables (LUTs) to generate logic functions. A K-input LUT can implement any Boolean functions with K inputs. Thanks to this flexibility, LUTs remained concep ...

2015

TSPC Flip-Flop Circuit Design with Three-Independent-Gate Silicon Nanowire FETs

Giovanni De Micheli, Jian Zhang, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

True Single-Phase Clock (TSPC) Flip-Flops, based on dynamic logic implementation, are area-saving and high-speed compared to standard static flip-flops. Furthermore, logic gates can be embedded into TSPC flip-flops which significantly improves performance. ...

IEEE2014

Pattern-Based FPGA Logic Block and Clustering Algorithm

Giovanni De Micheli, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

In classical FPGA, LUTs and DFFs are pre-packed into BLEs and then BLEs are grouped into logic blocks. We propose a novel logic block architecture with fast combinational paths between LUTs, called pattern-based logic blocks. A new clustering algorithm is ...

IEEE2014

A High-Performance Low-Power Near-Vt RRAM-based FPGA

Giovanni De Micheli, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

The routing architecture, heavily using programmable switches, dominates the area, delay and power of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Resistive Random Access Memories (RRAMs) enable high-performance routing architectures through the r ...

2014

Configurable Circuits Featuring Dual-Threshold-Voltage Design With Three-Independent-Gate Silicon Nanowire FETs

Giovanni De Micheli, Jian Zhang, Xifan Tang, Pierre-Emmanuel Julien Marc Gaillardon

Silicon nanowire transistors with Schottky-barrier contacts exhibit both n-type and p-type characteristics under different bias conditions. Polarity controllability of silicon nanowire transistors has been further demonstrated by using an additional polari ...

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers2014