Dual fixed-point: An efficient alternative to floating-point computation

This paper presents a new data representation known as Dual FiXed-point (DFX), which employs a single bit exponent to select two different fixed-point scalings. DFX provides a compromise between conventional fixed-point and floating-point representations. It has the implementation complexity similar to that of a fixed-point system together with the improved dynamic range offered by a floating-point system. The benefit of using DFX over both fixed-point and floating-point is demonstrated with an IIR filter implementation on a Xilinx Virtex II FPGA.