Instontech

Application

Industry

High Performance Computing

 


Source: Techreport.com


In high-performance computing applications, computing power (and chip cost) is closely related to the amount of on-chip memory. High-end, server-class processors use increasingly large on-chip SRAM to reduce cache misses and avoid off-chip data accesses. SRAM is expensive, requires six transistors per cell, and often takes up most of the chip area. Chip manufacturers have taken extreme measures (such as using embedded DRAM) to reduce area, however, this often increases system complexity and power consumption.


Case Study: VC-MRAM vs SRAM

Technical Path

area*

Energy consumption

Operating frequency

Durability

Zero standby energy consumption

SRAM

0.13um^2

<10 fJ

1ns

10^15

no

VCMRAM

0.034um^2

<10 fJ

2ns

10^14

yes


*28 nm


Compared with SRAM cache, VC-MRAM storage density is increased by 3~4 times at the same technology node. It is worth noting that VC-MRAM is compatible with semiconductor processes, so many products that have begun to develop it as a replacement for SRAM are underway. In addition, as a non-volatile memory, it ensures the security of critical data when power is off.