Memory and Storage

- Sheetal Gosrani
 Overview

 Memory Hierarchy
 RAM
 Memory Chip Organization
 ROM
 Flash Memory
 Memory Hierarchy

Increasing performance
and
increasing cost

Slow and
inexpensive
 Memory Hierarchy (contd)
Registers
 top in the hierarchy

 matched in speed to the CPU

 but are large and consume significant power

 number of registers in a processor are small

Secondary and off-line storage devices

 at the bottom of the hierarchy

 cost per stored bit small in terms of money and

power
 but access time is very long compared to

registers
 Random Access Memory(RAM)

 The term “random” means any memory location

can be accessed in the same amount of time
regardless of its position in the memory.
 Volatile memory
 Types of RAM:
 SRAM
 DRAM
 Static RAM

 Static RAM (SRAM) based on flip flops

 Contents of each location persist as long as
power is applied.
 Fast but relatively large
 Consume a lot of power
 Used for memory applications that are small but
fast
 Dynamic RAM

 Dynamic RAM (DRAM) employ capacitors

 Capacitor stores electric charge whose level
represents a 1 or 0
 Capacitors dissipate with time and hence the
charge must be restored frequently
 DRAMs
smaller, slower than SRAMs
support low cost, low power and high density and
hence used in main memory
Memory Chip organization
 RAM chip

 A0 – Am-1 : Address lines from 0 to m-1

 CS : Chip Select (CS = 0, chip selected)
 WR : ReadWrite (WR = 0, write operation)
RAM Grid
 RAM Grid
 During read operation:
 Entire row is selected
 It is fed into the column MUX
 MUX selects a single bit for output
 During write operation:
 Single bit to be written is distributed by the DEMUX
to the target column
 Row decoder selects the proper column to be
written
 Read Only Memory(ROM)

 Data stored in these chips is nonvolatile -- it is

not lost when power is turned off.
 On turn on, the computer loads BIOS from
ROM
 Data stored in these chips is either
unchangeable or requires a special operation to
change
 Applications: Videogames, calculators,
microwave oven, etc
 Read Only Memory(ROM) (contd)

 Lets see the circuit for a ROM that stores four

four-bit words(0101, 1011, 1110, 0000)
 PROM burner allows contents of the ROM to be
overwritten only once
 EPROMs – could be written several times
 EEPROMs – allow the content to be rewritten
electrically
 Flash Memory
 A section of memory cells can be erased in a
single step, or 'flash', thus the name
 Nonvolatile memory
 Flash memory is used for easy and fast
information storage in such devices as digital
cameras, mobile, video game consoles
 References

 Textbook: Computer Organization and

Architecture
 Wiki pages
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_storage
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_random_acces
s_memory
 http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ram.htm
 http://computer.howstuffworks.com/computer-
memory1.htm
Thank you