Power dissipation is becoming a limiting factor in the realization of
VLSI systems. The principal reasons for this are maximum operating tem
perature and, for portable applications, battery life. Because of the
relatively greater complexity, the power dissipation in digital signal
processing (DSP) applications is of special significance, and low pow
er design techniques are now emerging. This paper provides an overview
of the techniques and methodologies that have emerged in the past few
years for DSP system design. These include techniques for minimizing
power at architectural and algorithmic levels including DSP programmin
g issues. In addition, the paper indicates some potential design direc
tions. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.