Enhanced Dual Carry Approximate Adder with Error Reduction Unit for High-Performance Multiplier and In-Memory Computing

The Dual Carry Approximate Adder (DCAA) is proposed as an advanced 8-bit approximate adder featuring dual carry-out and carry-in full adders (FAs) along with an Error Reduction Unit (ERU) to enhance accuracy. The 8-bit adder is partitioned into upper and lower 4-bit blocks, connected via a dual carry-out full adder and a dual carry-in full adder. To minimize impact on the critical path, an ERU is designed for efficient error correction. Four variants of the DCAA are provided, allowing users to select the most suitable design based on their specific power, area, and accuracy requirements. The DCAA achieves a 78% reduction in Mean Error Distance (MED) while maintaining high computational speed and efficiency. When applied to Wallace Tree multipliers, it reduces delay by 32% compared to ripple carry adders (RCAs), and in in-memory computing (IMC) architectures, it significantly improves accuracy with minimal delay overhead. Experimental results demonstrate that the DCAA offers a well-balanced trade-off between accuracy, speed, and resource efficiency, making it suitable for high-performance, error-tolerant applications. Compared to existing approximate adders, DCAA exhibits superior error correction capabilities while achieving significantly lower delay. Furthermore, its efficient hardware implementation enables seamless integration into various computing paradigms, including AI accelerators and neuromorphic processors. Additionally, the scalability of the design allows for flexible adaptation to different bit-widths, making it a versatile solution for next-generation computing architectures.