Giuseppe Notarangelo

ASAM: Automatic architecture synthesis and application mapping

This paper focuses on mastering the automatic architecture synthesis and application mapping for heterogeneous massively-parallel MPSoCs based on customizable application-specific instruction-set processors (ASIPs). It presents an overview of the research being currently performed in the scope of the European project ASAM of the ARTEMIS program. The paper briefly presents the results of our analysis of the main challenges to be faced in the design of such heterogeneous MPSoCs. It explains which system, design, and electronic design automation (EDA) concepts seem to be adequate to address the challenges and solve the problems. Finally, it discusses the ASAM design-flow, its main stages and tools and their application to a real-life case study.

An RF-powered FSK/ASK receiver for remotely controlled systems

A fully integrated RF-powered receiver for remotely controlled systems is presented. The receiver adopts ASK and FSK modulations and is capable of operating in the ISM bands of 433 MHz, 869 MHz, and 915 MHz, while achieving a bit rate down to 62 kb/s. The circuit includes an RF harvester and a power management unit for the RF to DC power conversion and control, respectively, and an OTP memory with a digital interface for the operating configuration. Measurements show a harvester sensitivity of -18.8 dBm and accurate ASK demodulation with a modulation index as low as 10%. The current consumption is 87 μA and 720 μA for the ASK and FSK receiving mode, respectively. The circuit was fabricated in a 0.13-μm CMOS technology and occupies a core area of 2.2 mm2.

Low power strategy for a TFT controller

In this paper a low power strategy for a TFT controller is described. The design is based on a general controller for high resolutions graphic display data. The main improvements introduced concerns not only an effective power reduction of about 65.42%, compared with the original module, but also the new feature that allows one to choose among six different functional configurations. The new TFT controller works also with the new display generation such as organic LED (OLED) type, in this case we introduce the possibility to power down the backlighting neon. Measures are made with design compiler (Synopsys) to compute the TFT controller power consumption and the total cell area before and after our modifications.