Single-vDD and single-vT super-drowsy techniques for low-leakage high-performance instruction caches

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we present a circuit technique that supports a super-drowsy mode with a single-V DD . In addition, we perform a detailed working set analysis for various cache line update policies for placing lines in a drowsy state. The analysis presents a policy for an instruction cache and shows it is as good as or better than more complex schemes proposed in the past. Furthermore, as an alternative to using high-threshold devices to reduce the bitline leakage through access transistors in drowsy caches, we propose a gated bitline precharge technique. A single threshold process is now sufficient. The gated precharge employs a simple but effective predictor that almost completely hides any performance loss incurred by the transitions between sub-banks. A 64-entry predictor with 3 bits per entry reduces the run-time increase by 78%, which is as effective as previous proposals that used content addressable predictors with 40 bits per entry. Overall, the combination of the proposed techniques reduces the leakage power by 72% with negligible (0.4%) run-time increase.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  B. Hardware
  B.3 MEMORY STRUCTURES
      B.3.2 Design Styles
          Subjects: Cache memories

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

General Terms:
Design, Performance

Keywords:
leakage current, low power