Architecture of centralized field-configurable memory

ABSTRACT

As the capacities of FPGAs grow, it becomes feasible to implement the memory portions of systems directly on an FPGA together with logic. We believe that such an FPGA must contain specialized architectural support in order to implement memories efficiently. The key feature of such architectural support is that it must be flexible enough to accommodate many different memory shapes (widths and depths) as well as allowing different numbers of independently-addressed memory blocks. This paper describes a family of centralized Field-Configurable Memory architectures which consist of a number of memory arrays and dedicated mapping blocks to combine these arrays. We also present a method for comparing these architectures, and use this method to examine the tradeoffs involved in choosing the array size and mapping block capabilities.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  B. Hardware
  B.7 INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
      B.7.1 Types and Design Styles
          Subjects: Gate arrays

Additional Classification:
  B. Hardware
  B.7 INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
      B.7.1 Types and Design Styles
          Subjects: Memory technologies
      B.7.2 Design Aids
          Subjects: Layout

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Performance