Networks on Chips

by Giovanni De Micheli and Luca Benini

Published 1 January 2006
The design of today's semiconductor chips for various applications, such as telecommunications, poses various challenges due to the complexity of these systems. These highly complex systems-on-chips demand new approaches to connect and manage the communication between on-chip processing and storage components and networks on chips (NoCs) provide a powerful solution.

This book is the first to provide a unified overview of NoC technology. It includes in-depth analysis of all the on-chip communication challenges, from physical wiring implementation up to software architecture, and a complete classification of their various Network-on-Chip approaches and solutions.

Embedded system designers are constantly looking for new tools and techniques to help satisfy the exploding demand for consumer information appliances and specialized industrial products. One critical barrier to the timely release of embedded system products is integrating the design of the hardware and software systems. Hardware/software co-design is a set of methodologies and techniques specifically created to support the concurrent design of both systems, effectively reducing multiple iterations and major redesigns. In addition to its critical role in the development of embedded systems, many experts believe that co-design will be a key design methodology for Systems-on-a-Chip.

Readings in Hardware/Software Co-Design presents the papers that have shaped the hardware/software co-design field since its inception in the early 90s. Field experts -- Giovanni De Micheli, Rolf Ernst, and Wayne Wolf -- introduce sections of the book, and provide context for the paper that follow. This collection provides professionals, researchers and graduate students with a single reference source for this critical aspect of computing design.