Instruction Fetch Unit (IFU)
Computer Science Fundamentals; Computational Infrastructure
noun phrase
Definition: A CPU front-end subunit responsible for fetching program instructions from memory and supplying them to subsequent pipeline stages for decoding and execution; in modern processors, the IFU is typically associated with the instruction cache, program-counter logic, and related fetch-control mechanisms [Zhong et al. 2024].
Example in context: “The instruction fetch unit is the first stage of pipeline execution, responsible for fetching instructions from memory and providing input for subsequent stages.” [Zhong et al. 2024]
Synonyms: IFU
Related terms: instruction unit (IU); instruction pipeline; control unit; CPU front end