Efficient Scheme for Implementing Large Size Signed Multipliers Using Multigranular Embedded DSP Blocks in FPGAs

Modern FPGAs contain embedded DSP blocks, which can be configured as multipliers with more than one possible size. FPGA-based designs using these multigranular embedded blocks become more challenging when high speed and reduced area utilization are required. This paper proposes an efficient design methodology for implementing large size signed multipliers using multigranular small embedded blocks. The proposed approach has been implemented and tested targeting Altera's Stratix II FPGAs with the aid of the Quartus II software tool. The implementations of the multipliers have been carried out for operands with sizes ranging from 40 to 256 bits. Experimental results demonstrated that our design approach has outperformed the standard scheme used by Quartus II tool in terms of speed and area. On average, the delay reduction is about 20.7% and the area saving, in terms of ALUTs, is about 67.6%.