Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In this dissertation, a beyond-CMOS approach to Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) design is investigated using exploratory transistors including Tunnel Field Effect Transistor (TFET), Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor (CNFET) and Graphene NanoRibbon Field Effect Transistor (GNRFET). A Figure-of-Merit (FOM) based comparison of 6-transistor (6T) and a modified 8-transistor (8T) single-port SRAMs designed using exploratory devices, and contemporary devices such as a FinFET and a CMOS process, highlighted the performance benefits of GNRFETs and power benefits of TFETs. The results obtained from the this work show that GNRFET-based SRAM have very high performance with a worst-case memory access time of 27.7 ps for a 16x4-bit 4-word array of 256-bitcells. CNFET-based SRAM bitcell consume the lowest average power during read/write simulations at 3.84 uW, while TFET-based SRAM bitcell show the best overall average and static power consumption at 4.79 uW and 57.8 pW respectively. A comparison of these exploratory devices with FinFET and planar CMOS showed that FinFET-based SRAM bitcell consumed the lowest static power at 39.8 pW and CMOS-based SRAM had the best read, write and hold static noise margins at 201 mV, 438 mV and 413 mV respectively. Further, the modification of 8T-SRAMs via dual wordlines for individually controlling read and write operations for uni-directional transistors TFET and CNFET show improvement in read static noise margin (RSNM). In dual wordline CNFET 8T-SRAM, an RSNM improvement of approximately 23.6x from 6 mV to 142 mV was observed by suppressing the read wordline (RWL) from a nominal supply of 0.71 V down to 0.61 V. In dual wordline TFET 8T-SRAM, an RSNM improvement of approximately 16.2x from 5 mV to 81 mV was observed by suppressing the RWL from a nominal supply of 0.6 V down to 0.3 V. Next, the dissertation explores whether the robustness of SRAM arrays can be improved. Specifically, the robustness related to noise margin during the write operation was investigated by implementing a negative bitline (NBL) voltage scheme. NBL improves the write static noise margin (WSNM) of the SRAM bitcells in the row of the array to which the data is written during a write operation. However, this may cause degraded hold static noise margin (HSNM) of un-accessed cells in the array. Applying a negative wordline voltage (NWL) on un-accessed cells during NBL shows that the NWL can counter the degraded HSNM of un-accessed cells due to NBL. The scheme, titled as NBLWL, also allows the supply of a lower NBL, resulting in higher WSNM and write-ability benefits of accessed row. By applying a complementary negative wordline voltage to counter the half-select condition in columns, the WSNM of cells in accessed rows was boosted by 10.9% when compared to a work where no negative bitline was applied. In addition, the HSNM of un-accessed cells remain the same as in the case where no negative bitline was implemented. Essentially, a 10.9% boost in WSNM without any degradation of HSNM in un-accessed cells is observed. The dissertation also focuses on the impact of process-related variations in SRAM arrays to correlate and characterize silicon data to simulation data. This can help designers remove pessimistic margins that are placed on critical signals to account for expected process variation. Removing these pessimistic margins on critical data paths that dictate the memory access time results in performance benefits for the SRAM array. This is achieved via an in-situ silicon monitor titled SRAM process and ageing sensor (SPAS), which can be used for silicon and ageing characterization, and silicon debug. The SPAS scheme is based on a process variation tolerant technique called RAZOR that compares the data arriving on the output of the sense amplifiers during the read operation. This scheme can estimate the impact of process variation and ageing induced slow-down on critical path during read operation of an array with high accuracy. The estimation accuracy in a commercially available 65nm CMOS technology for a 16x16 array at TT, and global SS and FF corners at nominal supply and testing temperature were found to be 99.2%, 94.9% and 96.5% respectively. Finally, redundant columns, an architectural-level scheme for tolerating failing SRAM bitcells in arrays without compromising performance and yield, is studied. Redundant columns are extra columns that are programmed when bitcells in the regular columns of an array are slower or have higher leakage than expected post-silicon. The regular columns are often permanently disabled and remain unused for the chip lifetime once redundant columns are enabled. In the SRRC scheme proposed in this thesis, the regular columns are only temporarily disabled, and re-used at a later time in chip life cycle once the previously awakened redundant columns become slower than the disabled regular columns. Essentially, the scheme can identify and temporarily disable the slowest column in an array until other mitigating factors slow down active columns. This allows the array to operate at a memory access time closer to the target access time regardless of other mitigating factors slowing down bitcells in arrays during chip life cycle. An approximate 76.4% reduction in memory access time was observed from a 16x16 array from simulations in a commercially available 65nm CMOS technology with respect to a work where no redundancy was employed.

L'objectif de cette thèse est d'atteindre 0,5 V haute vitesse faible puissance SRAM. Pour ce faire, les cellules SRAM de pointe, des tableaux et des architectures de bus sont examinées. Les questions difficiles sont alors précisées. Pour répondre aux exigences, une cellule de 5T d'alimentation statique de puissance boostée, combiné avec WL boosté et milieu point de détection et d'un tableau de multi divisé BL ouvert sont proposées et évaluées. Pour encore accélérer l'opération d'écriture, un tableau de 4Kb sélectivement stimulé puissance alimentation 5T cell est proposé et évalué par simulation. Nous découvrons que le point milieu de détection avec moitié VDD BL precharge est plus stable lors de lire que la VDD complet conventionnelle precharge. En outre, pour atteindre un bus robuste à grande vitesse de faible puissance 0,5-V,une architecture de bus dynamique avec un bus factice, qui se compose d'un pilote de dynamique et d'un récepteur dynamique, est proposée. Le pilote dynamique permeten particulier de grande vitesse même à 0,5 V avec overdrive porte accrue enchangeant les lignes électriques de VDD/2 en mode veille avec VDD en mode actif. Ilaccélère encore avec l'aide du bus factice cette impulsion gena pour suivre le point dedétection tension du bus pour réduire l'oscillation de l'autobus. Ensuite, unearchitecture de bus 0,5-V 28 nm FD-SOI 32 bits à l'aide de la proposition estevaluaevaluated par simulation. Il s'avère que l'architecture a un potentiel à exploiterun bus 1-pF à 50-mV swing, 1,2 GHz et un courant de veille de 1,1 µA, avec x3-5 plus rapidement et plus de deux ordre plus faible courant de veille que l'architecture statique conventionnelle. / The goal of the thesis is to achieve 0.5-V high-speed low-power SRAMs. To do so, state-of-the-art SRAM cells, arrays, and bus-architectures are reviewed. The challenging issues are then clarified as 1) reduction of the minimum operating voltage VDD (Vmin) of the cell, 2) reducing bitline (BL)-active power, and 3) achieving low-power bus architecture. To meet the requirements, a static boosted-power-supply 5T cell, combined with boosted-WL and mid-point-sensing, and an open-BL multi-divided-array are proposed and evaluated. Layout and post-layout simulation with a 28-nm fully-depleted planar-logic SOI MOSFET reveal that a 0.5-V 5T-cell 4-kb array in a 128-kb SRAM core is able to achieve x2-3 faster cycle time and x11 lower power than the counterpart 6T-cell array, suggesting a possibility of a 730-ps cycle time at 0.5 V.To further speed up the write operation, a selectively-boosted-power-supply 5T-cell 4-kb array is proposed and evaluated by simulation, showing that the 4-kb array operates at 350-ps cycle with x6 faster cycle time and x13 lower power than the 6T-cell array, while maintaining a small leakage current. We find out that the mid-point-sensing with half-VDD BL-precharging is more stable during read than the conventional full-VDD precharging. Furthermore, to achieve a 0.5-V low-power high-speed robust bus, a dynamic bus architecture with a dummy bus, which consists of a dynamic driver and a dynamic receiver, is proposed. In particular, the dynamic driver enables high speed even at 0.5 V with increased gate-over-drive by changing the power lines from VDD/2 in the standby mode to VDD in the active mode. It further speeds up with the help of the dummy bus that generates a pulse to track the bus-voltage detecting point for reducing the bus swing. Then, a 0.5-V 28-nm-FD-SOI 32-bit bus architecture using the proposal is evaluated by simulation. It turns out that the architecture has a potential to operate a 1-pF bus at about 50-mV swing, 1.2 GHz, and a standby current of 1.1 µA, with x3-5 faster and more than two-order lower standby current than the conventional static architecture. Based on the results, further challenges to 0.5-V and sub-0.5-V SRAMs are described.