A Cache Architecture for Extremely Unreliable Nanotechnologies
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-2007
Publication Source
IEEE Transactions on Reliability
Abstract
In the drive to create ever smaller transistors, conventional silicon CMOS devices are becoming more difficult to fabricate reliably as process size shrinks. New technologies are being investigated to replace silicon CMOS. While offering greater numbers of devices per unit area, all of these technologies are more difficult to fabricate, and more likely to fail in operation than current technologies. Nanotechnology research has identified the need for fault and defect tolerance at the architectural level so that future devices can be used in large-scale electronics circuits. This paper examines the problem of creating reliable caches using extremely unreliable technologies. We incorporate support logic (i.e., control, datapath, and self-test logic) into the analysis, and propose a novel Content Addressable Memory-based design incorporating "best practice" fault tolerant design techniques. The design requires 15 times the number of devices of a conventional design, but enables the use of device technologies with defect rates higher than 10-6, a three order of magnitude improvement over non-fault tolerant designs
Inclusive pages
182-197
ISBN/ISSN
0018-9529
Copyright
Copyright © 2007, IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Volume
56
Peer Reviewed
yes
Issue
2
eCommons Citation
Roelke, George R.; Baldwin, Rusty O.; Mullins, Barry; and Kim, Yong C., "A Cache Architecture for Extremely Unreliable Nanotechnologies" (2007). Computer Science Faculty Publications. 124.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/cps_fac_pub/124
COinS
Comments
Permission documentation on file.