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feat(v2): M2 Neural Processor Array, N_PROCESSORS resource sweep

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Implements M2 of the V2 roadmap: neural_processor_array.v instantiates
N_PROCESSORS independent neural_processor (M1) units, each with its
own dedicated point-to-point job/operand/result interface -- no shared
bus or mux at this level (arbitration is explicitly the Neural
Director's job, M5).

Verified with Verilator (tb_neural_processor_array.v, N_PROCESSORS=4):
7/7 tests pass, including a same-cycle 4-way concurrent launch with
different tile counts and a staggered-start test where a
later-launched, shorter job completes before an earlier-launched,
longer one -- confirming genuine independent concurrent execution
(§18/§34: a blocked/busy processor must not block the others).

Real resource/timing sweep for N_PROCESSORS in {1,2,4,8} (Yosys +
nextpnr-ecp5, real place&route): Fmax stays above the 80MHz target
throughout (159.11 -> 134.70 MHz), but MULT18X18D usage scales
linearly and reaches 88% of the LFE5U-45F's 72 DSPs at N=8 while
LUT/FF stay under 6% -- DSP, not LUT/FF/routing, is the first hard
ceiling on N_PROCESSORS at P_IN=8 (decisions.log DEC-0005). Measured
via a dedicated synthesis-only timing harness after the array's wide
per-processor buses were found to exhaust the device's TRELLIS_IO pin
budget as a bare top-level module beyond N=1 (errors.log ERR-0005) --
not a logic limit, an artifact of testing the array in isolation
before the Memory Manager/Director (M4/M5) exist to consume those
ports on-chip.

Full log trail (development/experiments/errors/decisions/simulation/
synthesis/timing/benchmark.log) in hardware/v2/logs/ per the project's
logging mandate.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_013xXuuRUWZScuo1DeYJxs3v
This commit is contained in:
michele
2026-09-05 14:15:11 +02:00
co-authored by Claude Sonnet 5
parent dc0b331d3e
commit 3026dcd997
41 changed files with 1076183 additions and 2 deletions
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hardware/v2/logs/benchmark.log
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@@ -18,3 +18,25 @@ stall %, effective MAC/s: not yet meaningful at this milestone (single
isolated processor, no streaming benchmark harness yet -- deferred to
M2 once neural_processor_array.v exists and a real workload can be
timed end-to-end).
[2026-09-05] M2 Neural Processor Array, N_PROCESSORS sweep (P_IN=8,
ACC_WIDTH=32 each; synthesized via the timing harness, see errors.log
ERR-0005 for why)
| N_PROCESSORS | Fmax (POST-P&R) | LUT | FF | DSP (MULT18X18D) | DSP % of 72 |
|--------------|------------------|-----|------|-------------------|-------------|
| 1 | 159.11 MHz | 59 | 409 | 8 | 11% |
| 2 | 149.59 MHz | 106 | 786 | 16 | 22% |
| 4 | 151.01 MHz | 207 | 1540 | 32 | 44% |
| 8 | 134.70 MHz | 374 | 3048 | 64 | 88% |
All figures POST-P&R (real nextpnr-ecp5), all PASS at the 80MHz
target. LUT4 utilization stays under 6% of the device even at N=8;
DSP is the binding resource (see decisions.log DEC-0005), reaching 88%
at N=8 -- N_PROCESSORS=9 would already exceed the LFE5U-45F's 72
MULT18X18D budget at P_IN=8. Theoretical MAC/cycle (THEORETICAL, not
yet measured end-to-end -- no real workload/benchmark harness exists
until M9): N_PROCESSORS * P_IN MACs/cycle when all processors are
simultaneously streaming tiles (8, 16, 32, 64 for N=1/2/4/8 -- verified
achievable in principle by EXP-0003's concurrent/staggered simulation,
not yet measured as a sustained throughput number).