Design of low power & reliable networks on chip through joint crosstalk avoidance and multiple error correction coding

Abstract

Network on Chip (NoC) is an enabling methodology of integrating a very high number of intellectual property (IP) blocks in a single System on Chip (SoC). A major challenge that NoC design is expected to face is the intrinsic unreliability of the interconnect infrastructure under technology limitations. Research must address the combination of new device-level defects or error-prone technologies within systems that must deliver high levels of reliability and dependability while satisfying other hard constraints such as low energy consumption. By incorporating novel error correcting codes it is possible to protect the NoC communication fabric against transient errors and at the same time lower the energy dissipation. We propose a novel, simple coding scheme called Crosstalk Avoiding Double Error Correction Code (CADEC). Detailed analysis followed by simulations with three commonly used NoC architectures show that CADEC provides significant energy savings compared to previously proposed crosstalk avoiding single error correcting codes and error-detection/ retransmission schemes. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.