Abstract
The Scalable Processor Architecture (SPARC™) defines a general purpose 32 bit RISC processor architecture. The simple nature of the architecture provides a migration path to higher performance levels as new technologies become available. The goal was to design an architecture that would scale with, or track, improvements in the circuit technology. It has been implemented in gate arrays, full custom CMOS and bipolar ECL technologies by four different vendors. A number of implementations in other technologies including BiCMOS and GaAs are under way.
This paper describes the bipolar ECL implementation of the SPARC architecture. Also, covered are some of the system level considerations that influenced the design of the processor.
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References
“The SPARC™ Architecture Manual”, Sun Microsystems, Inc., Mountain View, CA. Also published by Fujitsu Microelectronics, Inc., 3320 Scott Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95054.
Robert Garner, Anant Agrawal, Faye Briggs, Emil W. Brown, David Hough, Bill Joy, Steve Kleiman, Steven Muchnick, Masood Namjoo, Dave Patterson, Joan Pendleton, & Richard Tuck, “The Scalable Processor Architecture (SPARC),” COMPCON88, February 29, 1988.
M. Namjoo, A. Agrawal, D. Jackson, Le Quach, “CMOS Gate Array Implementation of the SPARC Architecture,” COMPCON88, February 29, 1988.
A. Agrawal, Emil W. Brown, Joseph Petolino, James R. Peterson “Design Considerations For A Bipolar Implementation of SPARC COMPCON88, February 29, 1988
S. Kleiman, D. Williams “UNIX on SPARC COMPCONN88, February 29, 1988.
George Wilson, “Creating Low-Power Bipolar ECL at VLSI Densities” VLSI System Design, May 1986.
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© 1991 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
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Agrawal, A., Brown, E.W., Murata, D., Petolino, J. (1991). Bipolar ECL Implementation of SPARC. In: Catanzaro, B.J. (eds) The SPARC Technical Papers. Sun Technical Reference Library. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3192-9_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3192-9_15
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-97634-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-3192-9
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