Performance evaluation of Sparse Matrix-Matrix Multiplication

The conventional matrix multiplication algorithms that are suitable for dense matrices do not perform well on the corresponding Sparse Matrix-Matrix Multiplication (SMMM) operation. In particular, they do not utilize the sparsity of the matrix. This paper describes a new technique for performing the SMMM operation using a novel storage format for sparse matrices. To demonstrate the feasibility of this technique, the SMMM operation is implemented on an FPGA and various parameters that affect the performance of the design are explored.