Instruction fetch unit for parallel execution of branch instructions

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Abstract
A mechanism to reduce the cost of branches in pipelined processors is presented. This technique is implemented by means of a non-conventional cache (branch target cache) and an early branch detection circuit. Branches are executed by the instruction fetch unit (IFU) in parallel with the other instructions. In this way, the execution time cost for many branches can be effectively reduced to zero. In order to obtain the IFU design parameters, the mechanism is evaluated by means of an analytical model. Simulation results show the effectiveness of this technique.

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