EXTENT: enabling approximation-oriented energy efficient STT-RAM write circuit
Spin Transfer Torque Random Access Memory (STT-RAM) has garnered interest due to its various characteristics such as non-volatility, low leakage power, high density. Its magnetic properties have a vital role in STT switching operations through thermal effectiveness. A key challenge for STT-RAM in...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2023
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/164998 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | Spin Transfer Torque Random Access Memory (STT-RAM) has garnered interest due
to its various characteristics such as non-volatility, low leakage power, high
density. Its magnetic properties have a vital role in STT switching operations
through thermal effectiveness. A key challenge for STT-RAM in industrial
adaptation is the high write energy and latency. In this paper, we overcome
this challenge by exploiting the stochastic switching activity of STT-RAM cells
and, in tandem, with circuit-level approximation. We enforce the robustness of
our technique by analyzing the vulnerability of write operation against
radiation-induced soft errors and applying a low-cost improvement. Due to
serious reliability challenges in nanometer-scale technology, the robustness of
the proposed circuit is also analyzed in the presence of CMOS and magnetic
tunnel junction (MTJ) process variation. Compared to the state-of-the-art, we
achieved 33.04% and 5.47% lower STT-RAM write energy and latency, respectively,
with a 3.7% area overhead, for memory-centric applications. |
|---|