Compiler-assisted refresh minimization for volatile STT-RAM cache

Qingan Li, Jianhua Li, Liang Shi, Chun Jason Xue, Yiran Chen, Yanxiang He

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Spin-Transfer Torque RAM (STT-RAM) has been proposed to build on-chip caches because of its attractive features: high storage density and negligible leakage power. Recently, researchers propose to improve the write performance of STT-RAM by relaxing its non-volatility property. To avoid data loss resulting from volatility, refresh schemes are proposed. However, refresh operations consume additional energy. In this paper, we propose to reduce the number of refresh operations through re-arranging program data layout at compilation time. An N-refresh scheme is also proposed. Experimental results show that, on average, the proposedmethods can reduce the number of refresh operations by 73.3%, and reduce the dynamic energy consumption by 27.6%.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2013 18th Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference, ASP-DAC 2013
Pages273-278
Number of pages6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes
Event2013 18th Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference, ASP-DAC 2013 - Yokohama, Japan
Duration: 22 Jan 201325 Jan 2013

Publication series

NameProceedings of the Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference, ASP-DAC

Conference

Conference2013 18th Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference, ASP-DAC 2013
Country/TerritoryJapan
CityYokohama
Period22/01/1325/01/13

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