Design and Implementation of a High-Performance Look-Up Table (LUT) Accelerator using CAM-RAM Architecture in Verilog HDL

Abstract

This paper presents the design and implementation of a hardware accelerator based on Content Addressable Memory (CAM) and Random Access Memory (RAM) for high-speed function approximation and data transformation. Traditional Arithmetic Logic Units (ALUs) often struggle with non-linear functions (such as sin(x), log(x), or complex scaling) due to the high clockcycle latency of iterative algorithms. This design addresses these bottlenecks by utilizing a parallel search-and-retrieve architecture. The core of the accelerator is a Binary CAM implemented in Verilog HDL, which acts as a "hardware search engine." It takes a search key as input and identifies its location in a single clock cycle. This location is then used as an address for a synchronized Result RAM, which outputs the pre-computed value. The design is optimized for Xilinx FPGA architectures by utilizing distributed RAM and Look-Up Table (LUT) primitives to minimize resource consumption and maximize frequency. Key features of the implementation include: Single-Cycle Latency: Achieving near-instantaneous results for complex mathematical inputs. Resource Efficiency: Leveraging Xilinx-specific synthesis attributes to infer efficient hardware structures. Scalability: A parameterized design allowing for variable data widths and memory depths. Experimental results via Xilinx Vivado simulation and synthesis demonstrate a significant reduction in execution time compared to traditional softwarebased or iterative hardware approaches, making it an ideal candidate for high-speed networking and real-time digital signal processing (DSP) application