How to use the CORDIC algorithm in your FPGA design
Adam P. Taylor, EADS Astrium
EETimes (5/12/2012 11:14 AM EDT)
Most engineers tasked with implementing a mathematical function such as sine, cosine or square root within an FPGA may initially think of doing so by means of a lookup table, possibly combined with linear interpolation or a power series if multipliers are available. However, in cases like this the CORDIC algorithm is one of the most important tools in your arsenal, albeit one that few engineers are aware of.
Invented by Jack Volder while designing a new navigation computer at Convair for the B-58A Hustler program in 1959, CORDIC – it stands for Coordinate Rotation Digital Computer – is a simple algorithm designed to calculate mathematical, trigonometric and hyperbolic mathematical functions.
The real beauty of this algorithm is that you can implement it with a very small FPGA footprint. CORDIC requires only a small lookup table, along with logic to perform shifts and additions. Importantly, the algorithm requires no dedicated multipliers or dividers.
To read the full article, click here
Related Semiconductor IP
Related White Papers
- Speeding up the CORDIC algorithm with a DSP
- Achieving FPGA Design Performance Quickly
- Achieving FPGA Design Performance Quickly
- Design patterns in SystemVerilog OOP for UVM verification
Latest White Papers
- Ramping Up Open-Source RISC-V Cores: Assessing the Energy Efficiency of Superscalar, Out-of-Order Execution
- Transition Fixes in 3nm Multi-Voltage SoC Design
- CXL Topology-Aware and Expander-Driven Prefetching: Unlocking SSD Performance
- Breaking the Memory Bandwidth Boundary. GDDR7 IP Design Challenges & Solutions
- Automating NoC Design to Tackle Rising SoC Complexity