A fast instruction fetch unit for an embedded stack processor

The purpose of this work is to improve performance of a 16-bit stack processor. This processor is suitable for embedded applications. A stack processor has an advantage of low complexity but its performance can be improved. Observing the instruction fetch consumes 53% of the execution cycle, focusing on improving instuction fetch is the primary goal of this work. The proposed scheme uses 16-bit fetch with some additional path to reduce the number of control cycle. The work also suggests the use of instruction compression. The result shows the performance improvement of 32% and 37% respectively, achieving the reduction in instruction fetch cycle by 61% and 70%. Keyword : Instruction fetch, stack processor, embedded system A fast instruction fetch unit for an embedded stack processor Alongkot Burutarchanai, Vishnu Kotrajaras, Prabhas Chongstitvatana Department of computer engineering Chulalongkorn university Bangkok 10330, Thailand E-mail : [email protected], [email protected],[email protected]