A Memory Controller for FPGA Applications

Author

Bryan Jacob HunterFollow

Date of Award

8-2012

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Computer Engineering

Major Professor

Gregory D. Peterson

Committee Members

Gregory D. Peterson, Hairong Qi, Nathanael Paul

Abstract

As designers and researchers strive to achieve higher performance, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) become an increasingly attractive solution. As coprocessors, FPGAs can provide application specific acceleration that cannot be matched by modern processors. Most of these applications will make use of large data sets, so achieving acceleration will require a capable interface to this data. The research in this thesis describes the design of a memory controller that is both efficient and flexible for FPGA applications requiring floating point operations. In particular, the benefits of certain design choices are explored, including: scalability, memory caching, and configurable precision. Results are given to prove the controller's effectiveness and to compare various design trade-offs.

Recommended Citation

Hunter, Bryan Jacob, "A Memory Controller for FPGA Applications. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2012.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1305