The synchronous vs. asynchronous design debate erupts every now and then, usually when a vocal minority swears by asynchronous design, often claiming that asynchronous design delivers higher ...

A lack of suitable design tools and the dominance of a design culture favouring synchronous design are the factors limiting the broader use of asynchronous, or clockless, technology in chips.

MONTEREY, Calif. — A shift to asynchronous design styles is "inevitable" for digital computing systems, according to Ivan Sutherland, vice president and fellow at Sun Microsystems Laboratories.

Conventional chips are inefficient. Governed by a clock signal that wakes up every component with each tick, regardless of whether or not it is actually needed for the task at hand, they run at the ...