A survey on the design and performance of various MAC unit architectures

The rapid advancements in science and technology has augmented the demand for Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) with high computing performance and real time processing capabilities. Multiply Accumulate (MAC) Unit is one of the most significant blocks which helps a DSP to achieve high performance. The performance of the MAC unit determines the ultimate overall performance of the system. Several MAC unit designs have been developed and implemented so far to achieve better performance parameters. This paper provides an overview of the different designs used in a MAC unit in order to improve its performance.