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_access_memory

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ram.htm

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/computer-
memory1.htm
Thank you