Xilinx, Inc.
Apparatus and method for an exponential operator for a half-precision floating-point format

Abstract:

An apparatus for an exponential function for a half-precision floating-point format for an exponent x includes a denormalizer for receiving sign, exponent and significand bits for conversion of significant bits to a fixed-point format for a signed fixed-point representation. A splicer receives the signed fixed-point representation to output first, second and third splices. A first lookup table receives the first splice for accessing a floating-point exponent and a floating-point mantissa. A second lookup table receives the second splice for accessing a fixed-point exponent value. A first multiplier receives the fixed-point exponent value and the third splice to provide a first multiplication result. An adder receives the fixed-point exponent value and the first multiplication result to provide a sum. A second multiplier receives the floating-point mantissa and the sum to provide a second multiplication result. A combination of the floating-point exponent and the second multiplication result is a floating-point value.