CPUdesign
CPU design refers to the process of creating central processing units, from high-level architectural decisions to low-level hardware implementation. It encompasses the choice of the instruction set architecture (ISA), the microarchitecture that implements the ISA, and the physical design that maps circuitry to silicon. The ISA defines the programmer-visible interface and data model, while the microarchitecture determines how the CPU executes instructions, handles data, and communicates with memory.
Within a given ISA, designers select a microarchitecture featuring components such as pipelines, execution units, caches,
Memory hierarchy is a critical part of CPU design. On-chip caches (L1, L2, and sometimes L3) reduce
The design process typically follows an engineering workflow: requirement and architecture definition, RTL design in hardware
CPU design continues to evolve with trends such as heterogeneous systems combining general-purpose and specialized cores,