Publication Details
Error Mitigation using Approximate Logic Circuits: A Comparison of Probabilistic and Evolutionary Approaches
Entrena Luis
Hrbáček Radek, Ing., Ph.D. (RG EHW)
Sekanina Lukáš, prof. Ing., Ph.D. (DCSY)
Approximate logic circuit, error mitigation, evolutionary computing, single-event
transient (SET), single-event upset (SEU)
Technology scaling poses an increasing challenge to the reliability of digital
circuits. Hardware redundancy solutions, such as triple modular redundancy (TMR),
produce very high area overhead, so partial redundancy is often used to reduce
the overheads. Approximate logic circuits provide a general framework for
optimized mitigation of errors arising from a broad class of failure mechanisms,
including transient, intermittent, and permanent failures. However, generating an
optimal redundant logic circuit that is able to mask the faults with the highest
probability while minimizing the area overheads is a challenging problem. In this
study, we propose and compare two new approaches to generate approximate logic
circuits to be used in a TMR schema. The probabilistic approach approximates
a circuit in a greedy manner based on a probabilistic estimation of the error.
The evolutionary approach can provide radically different solutions that are hard
to reach by other methods. By combining these two approaches, the solution space
can be explored in depth. Experimental results demonstrate that the evolutionary
approach can produce better solutions, but the probabilistic approach is close.
On the other hand, these approaches provide much better scalability than other
existing partial redundancy techniques.
@article{BUT130920,
author="Antonio José {Sánchez-Clemente} and Luis {Entrena} and Radek {Hrbáček} and Lukáš {Sekanina}",
title="Error Mitigation using Approximate Logic Circuits: A Comparison of Probabilistic and Evolutionary Approaches",
journal="IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON RELIABILITY",
year="2016",
volume="65",
number="4",
pages="1871--1883",
doi="10.1109/TR.2016.2604918",
issn="0018-9529",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TR.2016.2604918"
}