Circuit having a multidimensional structure of configurable cells that include multi-bit-wide inputs and outputs

• US 7,822,968 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2009
• Issued: 10/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Scientia Sol Mentis AG (PACT XPP Schweiz AG)
• Original Assignee: Maren Krass, Thomas Richter
• Inventors: Vorbach, Martin, Munch, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Nitin C
• Application Number:
  US12/368,709
• Publication Number:
  US 20090146690A1
• Time in Patent Office: 623 Days
• Field of Search: 713/100, 713/1, 713/2, 712/15
• US Class Current: 713/100
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/088 giving rise to electric discharges for heating purposes H05B7/00; for the production of ozone C01B13/11, H01T19/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0849 Corona pulse discharge
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 13/11 by electric discharge
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2201/22 Constructional details of the electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2201/24 Composition of the electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2201/32 Constructional details of the dielectrics
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/12 Synchronisation of different clock signals provided by a plurality of clock generators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3237 by disabling clock generation or distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/7867 with reconfigurable architecture
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/57 Arithmetic logic units [ALU], i.e. arrangements or devices for performing two or more of the operations covered by groups G06F7/483 – G06F7/556 or for performing logical operations G06F7/49, G06F7/491 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/3001 Arithmetic instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/30101 Special purpose registers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/30134 Register stacks; shift registers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/3885 using a plurality of independent parallel functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/3897 with adaptable data path
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 422/907 Corona or glow discharge means

Abstract

A cascadable arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) which is configurable in function and interconnection. No decoding of commands is needed during execution of the algorithm. The ALU can be reconfigured at run time without any effect on surrounding ALUs, processing units or data streams. The volume of configuration data is very small, which has positive effects on the space required and the configuration speed. Broadcasting is supported through the internal bus systems in order to distribute large volumes of data rapidly and efficiently. The ALU is equipped with a power-saving mode to shut down power consumption completely. There is also a clock rate divider which makes it possible to operate the ALU at a slower clock rate. Special mechanisms are available for feedback on the internal states to the external controllers.

Claims

1. A Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit comprising:

a multi-dimensional configurable cell structure including a plurality of configurable cells; and

a configurable interconnect connecting the configurable cells;

wherein each of at least one of the cells is a data processing circuit that is hard-wired within the Field Programmable Gate Array and includes;

at least two input ports, each being at least 4-bit wide;

at least one output port being at least 4-bit wide;

at least one multiplier hardware unit arranged for receiving an input from the at least two input ports and for providing an output to the at least one output port; and

circuitry that couples the at least two input ports and the at least one output port to the configurable interconnect.

2. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least two input registers that are at least 4-bit wide.

3. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one output register that is at least 4-bit wide.

4. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the at least one of the cells comprises at least one floating point unit.

5. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least 3 inputs, each of which is at least 4-bit wide.

6. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 5, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one adder and at least one multiplier.

7. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 6, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one multiplexer located between at least one output of the at least one multiplier and at least one input of the at least one adder.

8. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 7, wherein the multiplexer allows selection of input data for the at least one adder from at least (a) the multiplier and (b) at least one of an input of the respective cell and another cell.

9. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 7, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one output register and at least one path for feeding back at least one of the output registers to at least one adder input via a multiplexer.

10. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to any one of claims 6 and 7, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one path for feeding back processing results of the cell as operands back to the cell, the path including at least one register that is at least 4-bit wide.

11. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to any one of claims 6 and 7, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one path for feeding back an output of the at least one adder as at least one operand back to the cell, the path including at least one register that is at least 4-bit wide.

12. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to any one of claims 6 and 7, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one output register and at least one path for feeding back an output from at least one of the output registers as operands back into the respective cell.

13. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 6, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one of (a) at least two input registers, each of which is 4-bit wide and (b) at least one output register that is 4-bit wide.

14. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to any one of claims 6, 9, and 13, wherein at least some of the cells comprise a shift function.

15. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to any one of claims 6, 9, and 13, wherein at least some of the cells comprise a comparator.

16. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to any one of claims 6, 7, 9, and 13, wherein the each of at least one of the cells has at least one input for defining the cell operation independently from other cells at runtime.

17. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 16, wherein the independent definition of the cell operation of the respective cell is performed without disturbing said other cells in their operations.

18. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 16, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells supports selection of one of a set of multiple configurations at runtime.

19. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to any one of claims 6, 7, 9, and 13, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one status output.

20. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 6, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells includes circuitry for performing a floating point operation.

21. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the cells comprise a divider.

22. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 3, wherein the at least one of the cells comprises at least one floating point unit.

23. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein, for each of at least some of the configurable cells:

the configurable cell performs at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and has at least one register; and

a clock supply of the at least one register is suppressible within the configurable cell.

24. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein, for each of at least some of the configurable cells:

the configurable cell performs at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and has at least one register; and

a clock supply of the at least one register is suppressible within the configurable cell for power saving.

25. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein, for each of at least some of the configurable cells:

the configurable cell performs at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and has at least one register; and

a clock supply of the at least one register is suppressible (a) within the configurable cell and (b) depending on availability of input data to the configurable cell.

26. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein, for each of at least some of the configurable cells:

the configurable cell performs at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and has at least one register; and

a clock supply of the at least one register is suppressible (a) within the configurable cell and (b) depending on acceptability, by a receiver, of output data of the configurable cell.

27. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the configurable cells perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, a clock supply to the at least one register being configurably suppressible.

28. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the configurable cells perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, a clock supply to the at least one register being configurably suppressible for power saving.

29. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the configurable cells perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, an arrangement being provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register.

30. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the configurable cells perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, an arrangement being provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register for power saving.

39. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to any one of claims 35, 36, and 27, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one path for feeding back output of the at least one adder as at least one operand back to the respective cell, the path including at least one register that is at least 4-bit wide.

31. A Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit comprising:

a two-dimensional configurable cell structure including a plurality of configurable cells; and

a configurable interconnect connecting the configurable cells;

wherein each of at least one of the cells is a hard-wired implemented logic circuit arranged for implementing a runtime configurable function and includes;

an at least 4-bit wide processing unit configurable in function, each of at least two input ports of the at least 4-bit wide processing unit being at least 4-bit wide and having a respective at least 4-bit wide input register, and each of at least one output port of the at least 4-bit wide processing unit being at least 4-bit wide and having a respective at least one at least 4-bit wide output register; and

circuitry that couples the at least two input ports and the at least one output port to the configurable interconnect.

32. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to claim 31, wherein a function unit of the at least one of the cells comprises at least one multiplier.

33. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to any one of claims 31 and 32, wherein the at least one of the cells comprises at least one floating point unit.

34. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to claim 31, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least three input ports that are each at least 4-bit wide.

35. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to claim 34, wherein a function unit of the at least one of the cells comprises at least one adder and at least one multiplier.

36. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to claim 35, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one multiplexer located between at least one output of the at least one multiplier and at least one input of the at least one adder.

37. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to claim 35, wherein the multiplexer allows selection of input data for the at least one adder from at least (a) the multiplier and (b) at least one of an input of the respective cell and another cell.

38. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to any one of claims 35, 36, and 37, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one path for feeding back processing results of the respective cell as operands back into the respective cell, the path including at least one register that is at least 4-bit wide.

40. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to any one of claims 35 and 36, wherein the each of the at least one of the cells has at least one path for feeding back output from at least one of the output registers as operands back into the respective cell.

41. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to claim 35, wherein the at least one of the cells has at least one path for feeding back at least one output register to at least one adder input via a multiplexer.

42. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to any one of claims 31, 32, 35, and 41, wherein at least some of the cells comprise a shift function.

43. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to any one of claims 31, 32, 35, and 41, wherein at least some of the cells comprise a comparator.

44. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to any one of claims 31, 35, 36, and 41, wherein each of the at least one of the cells has at least one input for defining a function of the respective cell independently from other cells at runtime.

45. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to claim 44, wherein the independent definition of the function of the respective cell is performed without disturbing said other cells in their operations.

46. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to any one of claims 31, 35, 36, and 41, wherein the at least one of the cells has at least one status output.

47. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to any one of claims 31 and 35, wherein the at least one of the cells supports a selection of one of a set of multiple configurations at runtime.

48. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to any one of claims 31 and 35, wherein the at least one of the cells includes circuitry for performing a floating point operation.

49. The Field Programmable Gate Array Integrated Circuit according to claim 31, wherein at least some of the cells comprise a divider.

50. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 31, wherein each of at least some of the configurable cells performs at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and has at least one register, a clock supply of the at least one register being suppressible within the configurable cell.

51. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 31, wherein each of at least some of the configurable cells performs at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and has at least one register, a clock supply of the at least one register being suppressible within the configurable cell depending on availability of input data to the configurable cell.

52. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 31, wherein each of at least some of the configurable cells performs at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and has at least one register, a clock supply of the at least one register being suppressible within the configurable cell depending on acceptability, by a receiver, of output data of the configurable cell.

53. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 31, wherein each of at least some of the configurable cells performs at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and has at least one register, a clock supply of the at least one register being suppressible within the configurable cell for power saving.

54. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 31, wherein at least some of the configurable cells perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, a clock supply to the at least one register being configurably suppressible.

55. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 31, wherein at least some of the configurable cells perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, a clock supply to the at least one register being configurably suppressible for power saving.

56. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 31, wherein at least some of the configurable cells perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, an arrangement being provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register.

57. The Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit according to claim 31, wherein at least some of the configurable cells perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, an arrangement being provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register for power saving.

58. A configurable data processing cell implemented in an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit being configurable in function at runtime and having (a) a multi-dimensionally arranged configurable cell structure and (b) a configurable interconnect connecting configurable cells of the configurable cell structure, wherein the data processing cell is hard-wired implemented in the cell structure, the data processing cell comprising:

at least one adder hardware unit;

at least one multiplier hardware unit;

at least two input ports, each being at least 4-bit wide, the at least two input ports being arranged for providing input to the at least one adder and at least one multiplier;

at least one output port being at least 4-bit wide, the at least one multiplier being arranged for providing an output to the at least one output port; and

circuitry that couples the at least two input ports and the at least one output port to the configurable interconnect;

wherein at least one of the input ports is arranged such that a function of the data processing cell is definable by the at least one of the input ports independently from other cells at runtime.

59. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, wherein the independent definition of the function of the data processing cell is performed without disturbing said other cells in their operations.

60. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, further comprising at least two at least 4-bit wide input registers.

61. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, further comprising at least one at least 4-bit wide output register.

62. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 58, 59, and 61, further comprising at least one floating point unit.

63. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, further comprising at least three input ports that are each at least 4-bit wide.

64. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, further comprising at least one multiplexer located between the at least one multiplier and the at least one adder.

65. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 64, wherein the multiplexer allows selection of input data for the at least one adder from at least (a) the multiplier and (b) at least one of another cell and an input of the configurable processing cell.

66. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 64, further comprising at least one path for feeding back processing results of the cell as operands back into the cell, the path including at least one register that is at least 4-bit wide.

67. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 64, further comprising at least one path for feeding back output of the at least one adder as at least one operand back to the cell, the path including at least one register that is at least 4-bit wide.

68. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 64, further comprising at least one output register and at least one path for feeding back output from at least one of output registers as operands back into the cell.

69. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 64, further comprising at least one output register and at least one path for feeding back at least one output register to at least one adder input via a multiplexer.

70. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, further comprising at least one of (a) at least two at least 4-bit wide input registers and (b) at least one at least 4-bit wide output register.

71. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 59, 61, 68, 69, and 70, wherein the integrated circuit is a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

72. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 58, 64, 68, and 70, further comprising a shift function.

73. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 58, 64, 68, and 70, further comprising a comparator.

74. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 58, 64, 68, and 70, wherein the cell supports selection of one of a set of multiple configurations at runtime.

75. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, further comprising a divider.

76. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, further comprising at least one status output.

77. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, wherein the cell includes circuitry for performing a floating point operation.

78. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, wherein the configurable data processing cell has at least one register, and an arrangement is provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register.

79. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, wherein the configurable data processing cell has at least one register, and an arrangement is provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register for power saving.

80. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, wherein the configurable data processing cell has at least one register, and a clock supply for the at least one register is suppressible.

81. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, wherein the configurable data processing cell has at least one register, and a clock supply for the at least one register is suppressible depending on availability of input data to the configurable data processing cell.

82. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, wherein the configurable data processing cell has at least one register, and a clock supply for the at least one register is suppressible depending on acceptability, by a receiver, of output data of the configurable data processing cell.

83. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 58, wherein the configurable data processing cell has at least one register, and a clock supply for the at least one register is suppressible for power saving.

84. A configurable data processing cell implemented in an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit being configurable in function at runtime and having (a) a multi-dimensionally arranged configurable cell structure and (b) a configurable interconnect connecting the configurable cells, wherein the configurable data processing cell is hard-wired implemented in the cell structure, the configurable data processing cell comprising:

at least three inputs, each being at least 4-bit wide;

at least one output being at least 4-bit wide;

at least one adder function unit;

at least one multiplier function unit; and

at least one of (a) at least one arithmetic function unit and (b) at least one logic function unit;

wherein individual ones of the function units are selectively interconnectable such that an output of at least one of the at least one adder function unit, the at least one multiplier function unit, and the at least one of (a) at least one arithmetic function unit and (b) at least one logic function unit is selectively used as an input to another of the at least one adder function unit, the at least one multiplier function unit, and the at least one of (a) at least one arithmetic function unit and (b) at least one logic function unit.

85. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, wherein at least one of the at least three inputs comprises a 4-bit wide input register.

86. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, wherein at least one of the at least one output comprises a 4-bit wide output register.

87. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 86, further comprising at least one path for feeding an output from at least one of the output registers as operands back into the cell.

88. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 86, further comprising at least one path for feeding back at least one output register to at least one adder input via a multiplexer.

89. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, further comprising at least one path for feeding processing results of the cell as operands back into the cell, the path including at least one register, the register being at least 4-bit wide.

90. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 89, further comprising a shift function.

91. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 84, 87, 89, and 90, further comprising at least one input for defining the cell'"'"'s function independently from other cells at runtime.

92. The configurable data processing cell according to claims 91, wherein the integrated circuit is a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

93. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 91, wherein the independent definition of the cell'"'"'s function is performed without disturbing said other cells in their operations.

94. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 91, wherein the cell supports selection of one of a set of multiple configurations at runtime.

95. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 89, further comprising a comparator.

96. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 84 and 89, further comprising at least one status output.

97. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 84, 86, 87, 90, and 95, wherein the integrated circuit is a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

98. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 84 and 89, wherein the cell includes circuitry for performing a floating point operation.

99. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, further comprising at least one path for feeding back output of the at least one adder as at least one operand back to the cell, the path including at least one register that is at least 4-bit wide.

100. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, further comprising a divider.

101. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, further comprising at least one floating point unit.

102. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 96, wherein the integrated circuit is a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

103. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, wherein the configurable data processing cell performs at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and has at least one register, an arrangement being provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register.

104. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, wherein the configurable data processing cell performs at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and has at least one register, an arrangement being provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register for power saving.

105. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, wherein the configurable data processing cell has at least one register, and a clock supply for the register is suppressible.

106. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, wherein the configurable data processing cell has at least one register, and a clock supply for the register is suppressible depending on availability of input data to the configurable data processing cell.

107. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, wherein the configurable data processing cell has at least one register, and a clock supply for the register is suppressible depending on acceptability, by a receiver, of output data of the configurable data processing cell.

108. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, wherein the configurable data processing cell has at least one register, and a clock supply for the register is suppressible for power saving.

109. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, wherein at least some of the configurable cells perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, an arrangement being provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register.

110. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 84, wherein at least some of the configurable cells perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, an arrangement being provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register for power saving.

111. A configurable data processing cell implemented in an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit being configurable in function and interconnection at runtime and having (a) a multi-dimensionally arranged configurable cell structure and (b) a configurable interconnect connecting the configurable cells, wherein the data processing cell is hard-wired implemented in the cell structure, the data processing cell comprising:

at least two input registers;

at least one output register; and

at least one hard-wired floating point unit arranged for receiving an input from the at least two input registers and providing an output to the at least one output register.

112. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 111, wherein the at least two input registers include at least two at least 4-bit wide input registers.

113. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 111, wherein the at least one output register includes at least one at least 4-bit wide output register.

114. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 111, further comprising at least one path for feeding processing results of the cell as operands back into the cell, the path including at least one register that is at least 4-bit wide.

115. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 111, 112, 113, and 114, further comprising at least one input for defining the cell'"'"'s function independently from other cells at runtime without disturbing or influencing other cells in their operation.

116. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 115, wherein the cell supports selection of one of a set of multiple configurations at runtime.

117. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 111 and 114, further comprising at least one status output.

118. The configurable data processing cell according to any one of claims 111, 112, 113, and 114, wherein the Integrated Circuit is a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

119. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 117, wherein the Integrated Circuit is a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

120. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 115, wherein the Integrated Circuit is a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

121. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 111, wherein the configurable processing cell has at least one register for which a clock supply is suppressible.

122. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 111, wherein the configurable processing cell has at least one register for which a clock supply is suppressible depending on availability of input data to the configurable data processing cell.

123. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 111, wherein the configurable processing cell has at least one register for which a clock supply is suppressible depending on acceptability, by a receiver, of output data of the configurable data processing cell.

124. The configurable data processing cell according to claim 111, wherein the configurable processing cell has at least one register for which a clock supply is suppressible for power saving.

125. A data processor integrated circuit that is configurable in function at runtime, comprising:

configurable elements arranged in a two-dimensional manner; and

a configurable interconnect for connecting the configurable elements in a configurable manner;

wherein each of at least some of the configurable elements comprises;

at least one ALU (a) being at least 4-bit wide, (b) having a set of predefined, non-alterable instructions, and (c) and including circuitry via which to execute arithmetic logic operations in accordance with said set of predefined, non-alterable instructions;

at least two input registers, each being at least 4-bit wide and including circuitry in which operands received over the configurable interconnect are storable;

at least one at least 4-bit wide output register for storing result data produced by the at least one ALU in accordance with the configuration information;

at least one at least 4-bit wide multiplexer located between at least one of the input registers and at least one input of the at least one ALU, at least one of the at least two input registers being connected to at least a first input of the at least one multiplexer.

126. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 125, wherein the each of the at least some of the configurable elements further comprises at least one at least 4-bit wide feedback from the at least one output register to at least one input of the at least one multiplexer, for feeding result data back to the at least one ALU.

127. The data processor integrated circuit according to any one of claims 125 and 126, wherein the each of the at least some of the configurable elements is arranged receiving configuration information defining a cell operation independently of other cells at runtime without disturbing or influencing other cells in their operation, the at least one ALU being arranged for executing an arithmetic logic operation in accordance with the configuration information.

128. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 125, wherein at least some of the configurable elements have at least one register, a clock supply for the at least one register being suppressible.

129. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 128, wherein the integrated circuit is a Field Programmable Gate Array integrated circuit (FPGA).

130. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 125, wherein each of at least some of the configurable elements has at least one register, a clock supply for the register being suppressible depending on availability of input data to the configurable element.

131. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 125, wherein each of at least some of the configurable elements has at least one register, a clock supply for the register being suppressible depending on acceptability, by a receiver, of output data of the configurable element.

132. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 125, wherein at least some of the configurable elements have at least one register, a clock supply for the at least one register being suppressible for power saving.

133. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 125, wherein at least some of the configurable elements perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, a clock supply to the at least one register being configurably suppressible.

134. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 132, wherein the integrated circuit is a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) integrated circuit.

135. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 125, wherein at least some of the configurable elements perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, a clock supply to the at least one register being configurably suppressible for power saving.

136. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 125, wherein at least some of the configurable elements perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, an arrangement provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register.

137. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 136, wherein the integrated circuit is a Field Programmable Gate Array integrated (FPGA) circuit.

138. The data processor integrated circuit according to claim 125, wherein at least some of the configurable elements perform at least one of arithmetic and logic data processing, and have at least one register, an arrangement being provided with the at least one register for disabling a clock supply of the at least one register for power saving.