Dual Fixed-Point: An Efficient Alternative to Floating-Point Computation

Chun Te Ewe, Peter Y. K. Cheung, George A. Constantinides

Abstract: This paper presents a new data representation known as Dual FiXed-point (DFX), which employs a single bit exponent to select two different fixed-point scalings. DFX provides a compromise between conventional fixed-point and floating-point representations. It has the implementation complexity similar to that of a fixed-point system together with the improved dynamic range offered by a floating-point system. The benefit of using DFX over both fixed-point and floating-point is demonstrated with an IIR filter implementation on a Xilinx Virtex II FPGA.