William Stallings
Computer Organization
and Architecture
8th Edition
Chapter 5
Internal Memory
Semiconductor Memory Types
Memory Type Category Erasure Write Mechanism Volatility
Random-access
Read-write memory Electrically, byte-level Electrically Volatile
memory (RAM)
Read-only
Masks
memory (ROM)
Read-only memory Not possible
Programmable
ROM (PROM)
Erasable PROM
UV light, chip-level
(EPROM) Nonvolatile
Electrically
Electrically Erasable Read-mostly memory
Electrically, byte-level
PROM (EEPROM)
Flash memory Electrically, block-level
Semiconductor Memory
• RAM
—Misnamed as all semiconductor memory is
random access
—Read/Write
—Volatile
—Temporary storage
—Static or dynamic
Memory Cell Operation
Dynamic RAM
• Bits stored as charge in capacitors
• Charges leak
• Need refreshing even when powered
• Simpler construction
• Smaller per bit
• Less expensive
• Need refresh circuits
• Slower
• Main memory
• Essentially analogue
—Level of charge determines value
DRAM Operation
• Address line active when bit read or written
— Transistor switch closed (current flows)
• Write
— Voltage to bit line
– High for 1 low for 0
— Then signal address line
– Transfers charge to capacitor
• Read
— Address line selected
– transistor turns on
— Charge from capacitor fed via bit line to sense amplifier
– Compares with reference value to determine 0 or 1
— Capacitor charge must be restored
Static RAM
• Bits stored as on/off switches
• No charges to leak
• No refreshing needed when powered
• More complex construction
• Larger per bit
• More expensive
• Does not need refresh circuits
• Faster
• Cache
• Digital
—Uses flip-flops
SRAM v DRAM
• Both volatile
—Power needed to preserve data
• Dynamic cell
—Simpler to build, smaller
—More dense
—Less expensive
—Needs refresh
—Larger memory units
• Static
—Faster
—Cache
Read Only Memory (ROM)
• Permanent storage
—Nonvolatile
• Microprogramming (see later)
• Library subroutines
• Systems programs (BIOS)
• Function tables
Types of ROM
• Written during manufacture
—Very expensive for small runs
• Programmable (once)
—PROM
—Needs special equipment to program
• Read “mostly”
—Erasable Programmable (EPROM)
– Erased by UV
—Electrically Erasable (EEPROM)
– Takes much longer to write than read
—Flash memory
– Erase whole memory electrically
Organisation in detail
• A 16Mbit chip can be organised as 1M of
16 bit words
• A bit per chip system has 16 lots of 1Mbit
chip with bit 1 of each word in chip 1 and
so on
• A 16Mbit chip can be organised as a 2048
x 2048 x 4bit array
—Reduces number of address pins
– Multiplex row address and column address
– 11 pins to address (211=2048)
– Adding one more pin doubles range of values so x4
capacity
Refreshing
• Refresh circuit included on chip
• Disable chip
• Count through rows
• Read & Write back
• Takes time
• Slows down apparent performance
Interleaved Memory
• Collection of DRAM chips
• Grouped into memory bank
• Banks independently service read or write
requests
• K banks can service k requests
simultaneously
Advanced DRAM Organization
• Basic DRAM same since first RAM chips
• Enhanced DRAM
—Contains small SRAM as well
—SRAM holds last line read (c.f. Cache!)
• Cache DRAM
—Larger SRAM component
—Use as cache or serial buffer
Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)
• Access is synchronized with an external clock
• Address is presented to RAM
• RAM finds data (CPU waits in conventional DRAM)
• Since SDRAM moves data in time with system
clock, CPU knows when data will be ready
• CPU does not have to wait, it can do something
else
• Burst mode allows SDRAM to set up stream of
data and fire it out in block
• DDR-SDRAM sends data twice per clock cycle
(leading & trailing edge)
DDR SDRAM
• SDRAM can only send data once per clock
• Double-data-rate SDRAM can send data
twice per clock cycle
—Rising edge and falling edge
Cache DRAM
• Mitsubishi
• Integrates small SRAM cache (16 kb) onto
generic DRAM chip
• Used as true cache
—64-bit lines
—Effective for ordinary random access
• To support serial access of block of data
—E.g. refresh bit-mapped screen
– CDRAM can prefetch data from DRAM into SRAM
buffer
– Subsequent accesses solely to SRAM
