HIGH SPEED MULTIPLE-BIT FLIP-FLOP

摘要

A vertical multi-threading processor (100) includes one or more execution pipelines (200) that are formed from a plurality of multiple-bit pipeline register flip-flops (400). The multiple-bit pipeline register flip-flops supply multiple storage bits. The individual bits of a multiple-bit pipeline register flip-flop store data for one of respective multiple threads or processes. When an executing (first) process stalls due to a stall condition, for example a cache miss, an active bit of the multiple-bit register flip-flop is stalled, removed from activity on the pipeline, and a previously inactive bit becomes active for executing a previously inactive (second) process. All states of the stalled first process are preserved in a temporarily inactive bit of the individual multiple-bit register flip-flop in each pipeline stage.