433-MHz 64-b quad-issue RISC microprocessor

A quad-issue custom VLSI microprocessor is described. This microprocessor implements the Alpha architecture and achieves an estimated performance of 13.3 SPECint95 and 18.4 SPECfp95 at 433 MHz. The 9.6 million transistor die measures 14.4 mm × 14.5 mm, and is fabricated in a 0.35-μm, four-metal layer CMOS process. This chip dissipates less than 25 W at 433 MHz using a 2.0 V internal power supply. The design was leveraged from a prior 300-MHz, 3.3-V, 0.50-μm CMOS design. It includes several significant architectural enhancements and required circuit solutions for operation at 2.0 V. The chip will operate at nominal internal power supply voltages up to 2.5 V allowing improved performance at the cost of increased power consumption. At 2.5 V, the chip operates at 500 MHz and delivers 15.4 SPECint95 (est) and 21.1 SPECfp95 (est). This paper describes the chip implementation details and the strategy for efficiently migrating the existing design to the 0.35-μm technology.