Computer

Architecture
Semiconductor main memory
Organization

• The basic element of a semiconductor memory is the memory cell.

Although a variety of electronic technologies are used, all
semiconductor memory cells share certain properties:
1. They exhibit two stable (or semistable) states, which can be used to
represent binary 1 and 0.
2. They are capable of being written into (at least once), to set the
state.
3. They are capable of being read to sense the state.
Semiconductor Memory Types
Volatile:
Volatile memory loses its stored
data when the power to the
memory chip is turned off.
However it can be faster and less
expensive than non-volatile
memory. 
Example: RAM
• Non Volatile
• Non-volatile memory (NVM)
preserves the data stored in it
during periods when the power
to the chip is turned off. 
Example: ROM
ROM

• A ROM is non-volatile; that is, no power source is required to maintain

the bit values in memory. While it is possible to read a ROM, it is not
possible to write new data into it.
• A ROM is created like any other integrated circuit chip, with the data
actually wired into the chip as part of the fabrication process. This
presents two problems:
• The data insertion step includes a relatively large fixed cost, whether one or
thousands of copies of a particular ROM are fabricated.
• There is no room for error. If one bit is wrong, the whole batch of ROMs must
be thrown out.
Types of ROM
• PROM programmable ROM
• EPROM erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM)
• EEPROM electrically erasable programmable read-only memory
(EEPROM)
PROM
• Less expensive alternative
• Like ROM, the PROM is nonvolatile and may be written into only
once.
• The writing process is performed electrically.
• Special equipment is required for the writing process
• Provides flexibility and convenience
• Attractive for high volume production runs
EPROM
• Optically erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) is read
and written electrically.
• Erasure is performed by shining an intense ultraviolet light
• This erasure process can be performed repeatedly; each erasure can
take as much as 20 minutes to perform.
• Thus, the EPROM can be altered multiple times and, like the ROM and
PROM, holds its data virtually indefinitely.
• For comparable amounts of storage, the EPROM is more expensive
than PROM.
EEPROM
• This is a read-mostly memory that can be written into at any time
without erasing prior contents; only the byte or bytes addressed are
updated.
• The write operation takes considerably longer than the read
operation, on the order of several hundred microseconds per byte.
• EEPROM is more expensive than EPROM and also is less dense,
supporting fewer bits per chip.
 Read-Mostly Memory

EPROM EEPROM Flash Memory

Electrically erasable Intermediate between

Erasable programmable programmable read-only EPROM and EEPROM in
read-only memory memory both cost and
functionality
Can be written into at any
time without erasing prior
contents Uses an electrical erasing
Erasure process can be
technology, does not
performed repeatedly Combines the advantage
provide byte-level erasure
of non-volatility with the
flexibility of being
updatable in place
More expensive than Microchip is organized so
PROM but it has the that a section of memory
advantage of the multiple More expensive than cells are erased in a single
update capability EPROM action or “flash”
FLASH MEMORY
• Flash memory is used both for internal memory and external memory
applications.
• Like EEPROM, intermediate between EPROM and EEPROM in both cost and
functionality.
• Flash memory uses an electrical erasing technology.
• An entire flash memory can be erased in one or a few seconds, which is much
faster than EPROM.
• It is possible to erase just blocks of memory rather than an entire chip.
• However, flash memory does not provide byte-level erasure.
• Like EPROM, flash memory uses only one transistor per bit, and so achieves the
high density (compared with EEPROM) of EPROM.
Types of RAM traditionally
DRAM SRAM
Dynamic RAM Static RAM
Example: Main Memory in Example: Cache Memory in
computers Computer
SRAM versus DRAM
 Both volatile
 Power must be continuously supplied to the memory to preserve the bit values

 Dynamic cell
 Simpler to build, smaller
 More dense (smaller cells = more cells per unit area)
 Less expensive
 Requires the supporting refresh circuitry
 Tend to be favored for large memory requirements
 Used for main memory

 Static
 Faster
 Used for cache memory (both on and off chip)

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reserved.
DRAM
• A dynamic RAM (DRAM) is made with cells that store data as charge
on capacitors.
• The presence or absence of charge in a capacitor is interpreted as a
binary 1 or 0.
• Because capacitors have a natural tendency to discharge, dynamic
RAMs require periodic charge refreshing to maintain data storage.
SRAM
• A static RAM (SRAM) is a digital device that uses the same logic
elements used in the processor.
• In a SRAM, binary values are stored using traditional flip-flop logic-
gate configurations.
• A static RAM will hold its data as long as power is supplied to it.
DRAM vs SRAM
Semiconductor Memory Type
Variations of DRAM
SDRAM Synchronous DRAM
• One of the most widely used forms of DRAM is the synchronous DRAM
(SDRAM).
• This added circuitry to the DRAM chip which synchronizes all operations
with a clock signal added to the computer’s memory bus.
• This allowed the chip to process multiple memory requests
simultaneously using pipelining, to increase the speed.
• The data on the chip is also divided into banks which can each work on a
memory operation simultaneously. 
• To achieve greater data rates by increases in SDRAM clock rate
Types of SDRAM
DDR
•  This could transfer twice the data (two consecutive words) on each
clock cycle by double pumping (transferring data on both the rising
and falling edges of the clock pulse). 
DDR2
•  Transfers 4 consecutive words per internal clock cycle
DDR3
•  Transfers 8 consecutive words per internal clock cycle
Types of SDRAM
DDR4
• Transfers 16 consecutive words per internal clock cycle.
• DDR4 is not compatible with any earlier type of random-access
memory (RAM) due to different signalling voltage and physical
interface, besides other factors.

DDR5
• DDR5 will be two times faster than DDR4 and also more power
efficient.
Error Correction
A semiconductor memory system is subject to errors.
• Hard Failure
• Permanent physical defect
• Memory cell or cells affected cannot reliably store data but become stuck at 0 or 1 or switch erratically
between 0 and 1
• Can be caused by:
• Harsh environmental abuse
• Manufacturing defects
• Wear
• Soft Error
• Random, non-destructive event that alters the contents of one or more memory cells
• No permanent damage to memory
• Can be caused by:
• Power supply problems
• Alpha particles
Hamming code
• The simplest of the error-correcting codes is the Hamming code
• The use of this code on 4-bit words (M = 4).
• With three intersecting circles, there are seven compartments. We assign
the 4 data bits to the inner compartments
• The remaining compartments are filled with what are called parity
• bits.
• Each parity bit is chosen so that the total number of 1s in its circle is even
• Thus, because circle A includes three data 1s, the parity bit in that circle is
set to 1.