Alibaba Group Holding Limited
APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR APPROXIMATING NON-LINEAR FUNCTION

Abstract:

The present disclosure relates to a method and an apparatus for approximating non-linear function. In some embodiments, an exemplary processing unit includes: one or more registers for storing a lookup table (LUT) and one or more operation elements communicatively coupled with the one or more registers. The LUT includes a control state and a plurality of data entries. The one or more operation elements are configured to: receive an input operand; select one or more bits from the input operand; select a data entry from the plurality of data entries using the one or more bits; and determine an approximation value of a non-linear activation function for the input operand using the data entry.