An Operand Routing Network for an SFQ Reconfigurable Data-Paths Processor

We report the progress in the development of an operand routing network (ORN) for an SFQ reconfigurable data-paths processor (SFQ-RDP). The SFQ-RDP is implemented as a two-dimensional array of floating-point units (FPU), outputs of which can be connected to the inputs of one or more FPUs in the next row via ORN. We have considered two architectures of the ORN: one is based on NDRO switches and the other - on crossbar switches. The comparison shows that the crossbar-based ORN has better performance due to the regular pipelined structure. We have designed a crossbar switch with a multicasting function and a 1-to-2 ORN prototype for 2.5 kA/cm
²
process. The circuits have been experimentally tested at the frequencies up to 36 GHz.