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