As system-on-chip (SoC) designs grow larger, designers must grapple with serious global timing problems, the effect of wire loading and timing delays and the performance hit associated with supporting ...

MONTEREY, Calif. — A shift to asynchronous design styles is "inevitable" for digital computing systems, according to Ivan Sutherland, vice president and fellow at Sun Microsystems Laboratories.

Asynchronous processors, which function without a global clock, have emerged as a compelling alternative to traditional synchronous architectures. Their design relies on handshake protocols and local ...