EFFICIENT XOR CALCULATION

In one embodiment, an exclusive-OR (XOR) calculation circuit configured to XOR a plurality of N input signals ranging from a first signal to an Nth signal is provided. The calculation circuit includes: a plurality of logic circuits arranged from a first logic circuit to a last logic circuit, wherein each logic circuit is configured to receive two logical input signals and the complement of the two logical input signals and to provide an XOR output signal and an XNOR output signal, wherein the XOR output signal represents the XOR of its two input signals and the XNOR output signal represents an exclusive-NOT-OR (XNOR) of its two input signals, and wherein the first logic circuit receives two of the N input signals as its logical input signals, a second logic circuit receives another one of the N input signals and an XOR output signal from the first logic circuit as its logical input signals, and so on such that the last logic circuit receives a remaining one of the N input signals and an XOR output signal from a next-to-last logic circuit as its logical input signals.