Analysis of a read disturb-free 9T SRAM cell with bit-interleaving capability

In this work, we proposed a single-ended read disturb-free 9T SRAM cell for bit-interleaving application. A column-aware feedback-cutoff write scheme is employed in the cell to achieve higher write margin and non-intrusive bit-interleaving configuration. And a dynamic read-decoupled assist scheme is utilized by cutting loop to relax the interdependence between stability and read current, resulting in robust read operation and better read performance simultaneously. Moreover, the lower write and leakage energy consumptions are also achieved. We compared area, stability, SNM sensitivity and energy consumption between proposed 9T and standard 6T bit-cells. The write ability of 9T cell is 1.40× higher that of 6T cell at 1.0 V, and 8.16× higher at 0.3 V. The write and leakage energy dissipations are 26% and 13% lower than that of 6T at 1.0 V. In addition, robust read and better process variation tolerance are provided for proposed design with area penalty.     

A new low-power 10T SRAM cell with improved read SNM

This paper describes the characteristics of a new 10T structure for SRAM cell that works quite well in the sub-threshold region. This new architecture has good characteristics in write and read delay and energy compared with other new structures. This new 10T topology improves read static noise margin (SNM) and write operation speed with respect to other topologies in the same or even lower power consumption. The new topology has at least 13% lower power consumption compared with the best of recent architectures. Its write characteristics also are similar to those of 6T-SRAM, which has improved write delay and energy. The new 10T SRAM cell also consumes lower power compared with other cells. The stacking is used to suppress the standby leakage through the read path. The simulations were performed using HSPICE 2011 in a 16 nm bulk CMOS Berkeley predictive technology model (BPTM).     

Variation resilient subthreshold SRAM cell design technique

This article presents a circuit technique for designing a variability resilient subthreshold static random access memory (SRAM) cell. The architecture of the proposed cell is similar to the conventional 10T SRAM cell with the exception that dynamic threshold MOS is used for the read/write access FETs and cell content body bias scheme is used for bitline droppers (FETs used to drop bitlines). Moreover, the proposed bitcell utilises single differential port unlike conventional 10T bitcell which utilises dual differential ports. The proposed design offers 2.1× improvement in T _RA (read access time) and 3.2× improvement in T _WA (write access time) compared to CON10T at iso-device-area and 200?mV. It exhibits three roots in its read voltage transfer characteristic (VTC) even at 150?mV showing its ability to function as a bistable circuit. The combination of write and read VTCs for write static noise margin of the proposed design also shows single root signifying its write-ability even at 150?mV. It proves its robustness against process variations by featuring narrower spread in T _RA distribution (by 1.3×) and in T _WA distribution (by 1.2×) at 200?mV.     

Energy-efficient skewed static logic with dual Vt: design and synthesis

In this paper, we describe skewed static logic (S/sup 2/L) with topology-dependent dual Vt which exhibits an energy-efficient operation. S/sup 2/L consumes less dynamic and static power compared to monotonic static (MS) CMOS. Speed degradation of S/sup 2/L, if any, can be offset by an accelerator circuit. We have designed NAND-NOR gate chains using 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS technology and verified that S/sup 2/L reduces energy-delay product over MS CMOS by 27%-50%. We have also designed 32-b carry-lookahead adders and verified that S/sup 2/L with dual Vt reduces delay by 43% and energy-delay product by 31% for 1-V power supply over conventional CMOS circuit. Synthesis algorithm for S/sup 2/L is developed and the experimental results show S/sup 2/L consumes 23% less power than MS CMOS with minor increase in delay.     

Impact and mitigation of SRAM read path aging

This paper proposes an appropriate method to estimate and mitigate the impact of aging on the read path of a high performance SRAM design; it analyzes the impact of the memory cell, and sense amplifier (SA), and their interaction. The method considers different workloads, technology nodes, and inspects both the bit-line swing (BLS) (which reflect the degradation of the cell) and the sensing delay (SD) (which reflects the degradation of the sense amplifier); the voltage swing on the bit lines has a direct impact on the proper functionality of the sense amplifier. The results with respect to the quantification of the aging, show for the considered SRAM read-path design that the cell degradation is marginal as compared to the sense amplifier, while the SD degradation strongly depends on the workload, supply voltage, temperature, and technology nodes (up to 41% degradation). The mitigation schemes, one targeting the cell and one the sense amplifier, confirm the same and show that sense amplifier mitigation (up to 15.2% improvement) is more effective for the SRAM read path than cell mitigation (up to 11.4% improvement).     

A read disturbance free differential read SRAM cell for low power and reliable cache in embedded processor

Energy consumption and data stability are vital requirement of cache in embedded processor. SRAM is a natural choice for cache memory owing to their speed and energy efficiency. Noise insertion to the SRAM cell during read is a serious problem which reduces its stability. A read disturbance free differential SRAM cell consisting of seven transistors is proposed here which increases cell stability along with maintaining the most desirable differential read technique for faster read. The read SNM of the proposed cell is 154%, 31% and 58% large than that of the conventional 6T-SRAM cell and 2 other 7T-SRAM cells [5,6] compared here. Various factors such as short circuit current reduction, use of single write access transistor, partial bit line swing etc. reduces the overall energy consumption of the proposed cell by 41% compared to 6T-SRAM cell. The proposed cell is also compared with an eight transistor based read disturbance free SRAM cell. The cell delay of the proposed cell is around 55% lesser than that of the 8T-SRAM cell. Besides CMOS the performance achievement of the proposed 7T-SRAM cell is also validated at miniaturized dimension of 20 nm using FinFET based predictive technology model library.     

6T SRAM cell analysis for DRV and read stability

The present paper analyzes the hold and read stability with temperature and aspect ratio variations. To reduce the power dissipation, one of the effective techniques is the supply voltage reduction. At this reduced supply voltage the data must be stable. So, the minimum voltage should be discovered which can also retain the data. This voltage is the data retention voltage(DRV). The DRV for 6T SRAM cell is estimated and analyzed in this paper. The sensitivity analysis is performed for the DRV variation with the variation in the temperature and aspect ratio of the pull up and pull down transistors. Cadence Virtuoso is used for DRV analysis using 45 nm GPDK technology files. After this, the read stability analysis of 6T SRAM cell in terms of SRRV(supply read retention voltage) and WRRV(wordline read retention voltage) is carried out. Read stability in terms of RSNM can be discovered by accessing the internal storage nodes. But in the case of dense SRAM arrays instead of using internal storage nodes, the stability can be discovered by using direct bit line measurements with the help of SRRV and WRRV. SRRV is used to find the minimum supply voltage for which data can be retained during a read operation. Similarly, WRRV is used to find the boosted value of wordline voltage, for which data can be retained during read operation. The SRRV and WRRV values are then analyzed for different Cell Ratios. The results of SRRV and WRRV are then compared with the reported data for the validation of the accuracy of the results.     

一款采用低电压技术的320mv,6kb的亚阈值10管SRAM

本文提出了一种新型的亚阈值10管SRAM单元,在130nm工艺下,本设计的SRAM容量 为6kb,最低可以工作在320mv的电压下。同时一系列的低电压的技术被运用到本SRAM的 设计中,使其能够工作在亚阈值电压下。反短沟效应和反窄沟效应提升了SRAM性能。新型 的脉冲产生电路产生理想的亚阈值脉冲,使得读操作更稳定。浮动的写位线有效地减小了待 机时的漏电。短的读位线使得读操作速度更快和更低功耗。最终流片后的测量表明这系列技 术在亚阈值区都是非常有效的,SRAM在320mv的电压下,工作频率800KHz,消耗功耗 1.94uw。     

130nm工艺极低泄漏电流亚阈值SRAM存储单元设计

本文提出一款工作在亚阈值（200 mV）区域且具有极低泄漏电流的亚阈值SRAM存储单元。该存储单元采用自适应泄漏电流切断机制,该机制在没有带来额外的动态功耗和性能损失的前提下,同时降低动态操作（读/写操作）和静态操作时的泄漏电流。差分读出方式和可配置操作模式的应用,使得本文设计在亚阈值条件下（200 mV）仍然保持足够的鲁棒性。仿真结果表明,相比于参考文献中的亚阈值存储单元本文设计具有：（1）在不同的工艺角下,均具有较大的读噪声容限和保持噪声容限;（2）在动态操作和静态操作时均具有极低的泄漏电流。最后,我们将该存储单元成功的应用于IBM 130nm工艺下的一款 bits存储阵列中,测试结果表明该存储阵列可以在200 mV电源电压条件下正常工作,所对应功耗（包括动态功耗和静态功耗）仅0.13 μW,是常规六管存储单元功耗的1.16%。     

An embedded DRAM with a 143-MHz SRAM interface using a sense-synchronized read/write

This paper describes a 4-Mb embedded DRAM macro using novel fast random cycle architecture with sense-synchronized read/write (SSR/SSW). The test chip has been fabricated with a 0.15-/spl mu/m logic-based embedded DRAM process and the 1.5-V 143-MHz no-wait row random access operation has been confirmed. Data retention power is suppressed to 92 /spl mu/W owing to the hierarchical power supply and SSR. The macro size is 4.59 mm/sup 2/. The cell occupation ratio of the macro is 46%, which is the same as that of a conventional embedded DRAM macro. The macro size and the data retention power are 30% and 4.6%, respectively, of a 4-Mb embedded SRAM macro fabricated by an identical process.     

A lightweight write-assist scheme for reduced RRAM variability and power

Common problems with Oxide-based Resistive RAM are related to high variability in operating conditions and high programming currents during FORMING, SET and RESET operations. Although research has taken steps to resolve these issues, variability combined with high programming currents remains an important characteristic for RRAMs. In a conventional write scheme with fixed duration and amplitude, the programming current is not controlled, which degrades the cell performance (power consumption and variability) due to over-programming. In this paper, a self-adaptive write driver is proposed to control the write current. A feedback mechanism based on current comparison is used to switch off the write stimulus as soon as the preferred write current is reached. Compared to conventional write schemes, in the proposed write-assist circuit, the write energy per bit is reduced by 27% and the standard deviation of post-FORMING distributions is reduced by 57%.     

An SRAM design using dual threshold voltage transistors and low-power quenchers

Static random access memories (SRAM) are widely used in computer systems and many portable devices. In this paper, we propose an SRAM cell with dual threshold voltage transistors. Low threshold voltage transistors are mainly used in driving bit-lines while high threshold voltage transistors are used in latching data voltages. The advantages of dual threshold voltage transistors can be used to reduce the access time and maintain data retention at the same time. Also, the unwanted oscillation of the output bitlines of memories caused by large currents in bitlines is reduced by adding two back-to-back quenchers. The proposed quenchers not only prevent oscillation, but also reduce the idle power consumption when the memory cells are not activated by wordline signals. Meanwhile, a large noise margin is provided such that the gain of the sense amplifier will not be reduced to avoid the oscillation. Hence, high-speed and low-power readout operations of the SRAMs are feasible.     

Sleep switch dual threshold voltage domino logic with reduced subthreshold and gate oxide leakage current

A circuit technique is proposed in this paper for simultaneously reducing the subthreshold and gate oxide leakage power consumption in domino logic circuits. PMOS-only sleep transistors and a dual threshold voltage CMOS technology are utilized to place an idle domino logic circuit into a low leakage state. Sleep transistors are added to the dynamic nodes in order to reduce the subthreshold leakage current by strongly turning off all of the high threshold voltage transistors. Similarly, the sleep switches added to the output nodes suppress the voltages across the gate insulating layers of the transistors in the fan-out gates, thereby minimizing the gate tunneling current. The proposed circuit technique lowers the total leakage power by 88 to 97% as compared to the standard dual threshold voltage domino logic circuits. Similarly, a 22 to 44% reduction in the total leakage power is observed as compared to a previously published sleep switch scheme in a 45 nm CMOS technology.     

A four-interleaving HBD SRAM cell based on dual DICE for multiple node collection mitigation

A 4-interleaving cell of 2-dual interlocked cells (DICE) is proposed, which reduces single event induced multiple node collection between the sensitive nodes of sensitive pairs in a DICE storage cell in 65 nm technology. The technique involves the 4-interleaving of dual DICE cells at a layout level to meet the required spacing between sensitive nodes in an area-efficient manner. Radiation experiments using a 65 nm CMOS test chip demonstrate that the LETth of our 4-interleaving cell of dual DICE encounters are almost 4× larger and the SEU cross section per bit for our proposed dual DICE design is almost two orders of magnitude less compared to the reference traditional DICE cell.     

SRAM cell defect isolation methodology by sub micron probing technique

With the complexity of integrated circuitry and the decreasing size of components, usual isolation techniques (SEM inspections, Passive Voltage Contrast…) are not enough to find the defect. This paper presents an accurate methodology using the Sub Micron Probing (SMP) technique applied to a SRAM cell analysis. Indeed the number of non visual defect (NVD) becomes more and more important on the last technologies. In this context, the classical failure analysis must be improved with the electrical methodology. This method consists in using a quantitative electrical I/V characteristic measurement technique at the metallization, vias, and contacts levels during delayering without physical modification and electrical I/V alteration. Moreover, the efficiency of this methodology allows us to guide analysis and to segregate the failure mechanism.     

Sub-1 V,pico-watt subthreshold CMOS voltage reference circuit with dual temperature compensation

A pico-watt CMOS voltage reference is developed using an SK Hynix 0.18 µm CMOS process. The proposed architecture is resistorless and consists of MOSFET circuits operated in the subthreshold region. A dual temperature compensation technique is utilized to produce a near-zero temperature coefficient reference output voltage. Experimental results demonstrate an average reference voltage of 250.7 mV, with a temperature coefficient as low as 3.2 ppm/°C for 0 to 125 °C range, while the power consumption is 545 pW under a 420 mV power supply at 27 °C. The power supply rejection ratio and output noise without any filtering capacitor at 100 Hz are −54.5 dB and 2.88 µV/Hz^1/2, respectively. The active area of the fabricated chip is 0.00332 mm².     

一种阵列布局优化的256 kb SRAM

介绍了一种阵列布局优化的256 kb(8 k×32位)低功耗SRAM。通过采用分级位线和局部灵敏放大器结构,减少位线上的负载电容;通过电压产生电路,获得写操作所需的参考电压,降低写操作时的位线电压摆动幅度,有效地减少了SRAM读写操作时的动态功耗。与传统结构的SRAM相比,该256 kb SRAM的写功耗可减少37.70 mW。     

Design and analysis of noise margin,write ability and read stability of organic and hybrid 6-T SRAM cell

This paper analyzes SRAM cell designs based on organic and inorganic thin film transistors (TFTs). The performance in terms of static noise margin (SNM), read stability and write ability for all-p organic (Pentacene–Pentacene), organic complementary (Pentacene–C₆₀) and hybrid complementary (Pentacene–ZnO) configurations of SRAM cell is evaluated using benchmarked industry standard Atlas 2-D numerical device simulator. Moreover, the cell behaviour is analyzed at different cell and pull-up ratios. The electrical characteristics and performance parameters of individual TFT used in SRAM cell is verified with reported experimental results. Furthermore, the analytical result for SNM of all-p organic SRAM cell is validated with respect to the simulated result. Besides this, the cell and pull-up ratios of the hybrid and organic SRAM cells are optimized for achieving best performance of read and write operations and thereafter, the results are verified analytically also. The SNM of hybrid cell is almost two times higher than the all-p SRAM, whereas this improvement is just 18% in comparison to the organic memory cell. On the other hand, the organic complementary SRAM cell shows an improvement of 26% and 22% for the read stability in comparison to the all-p organic and hybrid SRAM cells, respectively. Contrastingly, this organic cell demonstrates a reduction of 16% in the SNM and an increment of 76% in write access time in comparison to the hybrid cell. To achieve an overall improved performance, the organic complementary SRAM cell is designed such that the access transistors are pentacene based p-type instead of often used n-type transistor. Favorably, this organic SRAM design shows reasonably lower write access time in comparison to the cell with n-type access OTFTs. Moreover, this cell shows adequate SNM and read stability that too at substantially lower width of p-type access OTFTs.     

Pass transistor with dual threshold voltage domino logic design using standby switch for reduced subthreshold leakage current

Dual threshold voltages domino design methodology utilizes low threshold voltages for all transistors that can switch during the evaluate mode and utilizes high threshold voltages for all transistors that can switch during the precharge modes. We employed standby switch can strongly turn off all of the high threshold voltage transistors which enhances the effectiveness of a dual threshold voltage CMOS technology to reduce the subthreshold leakage current. Subthreshold leakage currents are especially important in burst mode type integrated circuits where the majority of the time for system is in an idle mode. The standby switch allowed a domino system enters and leaves a low leakage standby mode within a single clock cycle. In addition, we combined domino dynamic circuits style with pass transistor XNOR and CMOS NAND gates to realize logic 1 output during its precharge phase, but not affects circuits operation in its evaluation and standby phase. The first stage NAND gates output logic 1 can guarantee the second stage computation its correct logic function when system is in a cascaded operation mode. The processing required for dual threshold voltage circuit configuration is to provide an extra threshold voltage involves only an additional implant processing step, but performs lower dynamic power consumption, lower delay and high fan-out, high switching frequencies circuits characteristics. SPICE simulation for our proposed circuits were made using a 0.18 µm CMOS process from TSMC, with 10 fF capacitive loads in all output nodes, using the parameters for typical process corner at 25 °C, the simulation results demonstrated that our designed 8-bit carry look-ahead adders reduced chip area, power consumption and propagation delay time more than 40%, 45% and around 20%, respectively. Wafer based our design were fabricated and measured, the measured data were listed and compared with simulation data and prior works. SPICE simulation also manifested lower sensitivity of our design to power supply, temperature, capacitive load and process variations than the dynamic CMOS technologies.     

一种SRAM单双端口转换电路的设计与实现

介绍了一种用于单端口SRAM的单双端口转换电路.利用该转换电路,可以使单端口SRAM实现双端口SRAM的功能.这种转换电路将外部两个端口的信号进行转换和优先权分配,使外部两个端口的并行操作在内部用单端口SRAM依次完成.这样,从外部看来,单端口SRAM就具有了双端口SRAM的全部功能.用这种转换电路生成的双端口SRAM与相同容量的传统双端口SRAM相比,面积显著减少.基于SMIC 0.13μm标准CMOS工艺,设计了转换电路.后仿真结果显示,该转换电路实现了预期功能.