Design of an open-source processor in Bluespec based on Soft-core processor from Altera Nios II

• Grant number: 13/09113-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: September 01, 2013
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Computer Science - Computer Systems
• Principal Investigator: Eduardo Marques
• Grantee: Erinaldo da Silva Pereira
• Supervisor: João Manuel Paiva Cardoso
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Matemáticas e de Computação (ICMC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade do Porto (UP), Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/15319-7 - Design of an open-source processor in Bluespec Based on Soft-core processor from Altera Nios II, BP.MS

Abstract

This research project proposes to develop an open-source processor based on Altera's Nios II processor. The processor will be developed will allow customization of instructions, number of registers, inclusion of components that enable a detailed study of the cache, among other features. Moreover, as the processor will be based on the Nios II architecture, it will be integrated into the Qsys environment of Altera Quartus II tool, one can use the entire set of IP (Intellectual Property) and tools available from Altera. This work aims to contribute to the development of hardware architectures with a processing unit configurable, customizable, enabling a legacy of using pre-designed and pre-tested tools and supported by all recent methodologies to accelerate the process of development of hardware-based ESL (Electronic System Level). For the development of the processor will be used Hardware Description Language Bluespec, because it allows the hardware described can be synthesized into integrated circuits like FPGA (Field-programmable gate array). (AU)