On-chip Nonvolatile Memory Designs for energy-efficient IoT

Meng-Fan (Marvin) Chang
National Tsing Hua University


Abstract

Memory has become one of the bottlenecks in the development of IoT and wearable devices with low energy consumption. This tutorial addresses trends in the development of on-chip (embedded) non-volatile memory (NVM) for energy-efficient IoT applications. We will examine a variety of NVM technologies, including Flash, OTP/MTP, resistive RAM, phase-change memory (PCM), and STT-MRAM. This tutorial will explore the challenges faced by researchers in the design of low-power and high-speed circuits for on-chip NVM macros. We will also look at some state-of-the-art silicon-verified circuit techniques, including high-speed and low-voltage NVM macros. The implementation of NVM devices beyond conventional applications, such as nonvolatile-logics (nvLogics) and nonvolatile-SRAM/TCAM (nvSRAM/nvTCAM) for nonvolatile processors, will also be discussed.