Design of In-Memory Parallel-Prefix Adders

Computational methods in memory array are being researched in many emerging memory technologies to conquer the ‘von Neumann bottleneck’. Resistive RAM (ReRAM) is a non-volatile memory, which supports Boolean logic operation, and adders can be implemented as a sequence of Boolean operations in the memory. While many in-memory adders have recently been proposed, their latency is exorbitant for increasing bit-width (O(n)). Decades of research in computer arithmetic have proven parallel-prefix technique to be the fastest addition technique in conventional CMOS-based binary adders. This work endeavors to move parallel-prefix addition to the memory array to significantly minimize the latency of in-memory addition. Majority logic was chosen as the fundamental logic primitive and parallel-prefix adders synthesized in majority logic were mapped to the memory array using the proposed algorithm. The proposed algorithm can be used to map any parallel-prefix adder to a memory array and mapping is performed in such a way that the latency of addition is minimized. The proposed algorithm enables addition in O(log(n)) latency in the memory array.

Designing and verification of first in first out using Verilog

This paper deals with the designing and verification of first in first out (fifo) using verilog. A FIFO is a memory queue which controls the data flow between two modules. It has the capacity to trigger different flags according to the status of the FIFO such has empty fifo status, half read fifo status, half written fifo status, full fifo status. Both the reading and writing operation can be performed simultaneously as it has dual port memory. After the completion of designing and simulating it on xilinx vivado this report also covers the verification carried out in modelsim. A detailed discussion on the architecture of each module that is writing module, reading module and memory array along with the various test benches and waveforms of simulation and verification is included in the paper.

Highly Reliable Memory Operation of High Density Three-Terminal Thyristor Random Access Memory

Three-terminal (3-T) thyristor random-access memory is explored for a next generation high-density nanoscale vertical cross-point array. The effects of standby voltages on the device are thoroughly investigated in terms of gate-cathode voltage (VGC,ST) and anode- cathode voltage (VAC,ST) in the standby state for superior data retention characteristics and low-power operation. The device with the optimized VGC,ST of -0.4 V and VAC,ST of 0.6 V shows the continuous data retention capability without refresh operation with a low standby current of 1.14 pA. In addition, a memory array operation scheme of 3-T TRAM is proposed to address array disturbance issues. The presented array operation scheme can efficiently minimize program, erase and read disturbances on unselected cells by adjusting gate-cathode voltage. The standby voltage turns out to be beneficial to improve retention characteristics: over 10 s. With the proposed memory array operation, 3-T TRAM can provide excellent data retention characteristics and high-density memory configurations comparable with or surpass conventional dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) technology.

Custom Memory Design for Logic-in-Memory: Drawbacks and Improvements over Conventional Memories

The speed of modern digital systems is severely limited by memory latency (the “Memory Wall” problem). Data exchange between Logic and Memory is also responsible for a large part of the system energy consumption. Logic-in-Memory (LiM) represents an attractive solution to this problem. By performing part of the computations directly inside the memory the system speed can be improved while reducing its energy consumption. LiM solutions that offer the major boost in performance are based on the modification of the memory cell. However, what is the cost of such modifications? How do these impact the memory array performance? In this work, this question is addressed by analysing a LiM memory array implementing an algorithm for the maximum/minimum value computation. The memory array is designed at physical level using the FreePDK 45nm CMOS process, with three memory cell variants, and its performance is compared to SRAM and CAM memories. Results highlight that read and write operations performance is worsened but in-memory operations result to be very efficient: a 55.26% reduction in the energy-delay product is measured for the AND operation with respect to the SRAM read one. Therefore, the LiM approach represents a very promising solution for low-density and high-performance memories.