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Do superconducting processors really need cryogenic memories?: the case for cold DRAM

Authors:

Liji Gopalakrishnan,

Sally A. McKee,

Thomas Vogelsang,

Kenneth L. Wright,

Gary BronnerAuthors Info & Claims

MEMSYS '17: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Memory Systems

Pages 183 - 188

https://doi.org/10.1145/3132402.3132424

Published: 02 October 2017 Publication History

Abstract

Cryogenic, superconducting digital processors offer the promise of greatly reduced operating power for server-class computing systems. This is due to the exceptionally low energy per operation of Single Flux Quantum circuits built from Josephson junction devices operating at the temperature of 4 Kelvin. Unfortunately, no suitable same-temperature memory technology yet exists to complement these SFQ logic technologies. Possible memory technologies are in the early stages of development but will take years to reach the cost per bit and capacity capabilities of current semiconductor memory. We discuss the pros and cons of four alternative memory architectures that could be coupled to SFQ-based processors. Our feasibility studies indicate that cold memories built from CMOS DRAM and operating at 77K can support superconducting processors at low cost-per-bit, and that they can do so today.

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MEMSYS '17: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Memory Systems

October 2017

409 pages

ISBN:9781450353359

DOI:10.1145/3132402

General Chair:
Bruce Jacob
University of Maryland

Copyright © 2017 Owner/Author.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

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Association for Computing Machinery

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Publication History

Published: 02 October 2017

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MEMSYS 2017

MEMSYS 2017: The International Symposium on Memory Systems, 2017

October 2 - 5, 2017

Virginia, Alexandria

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Cited By

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3664925
Smith RLee T(2024)Quantum Computing Gate Emulation Using CMOS Oscillatory Cellular Neural NetworksIEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs10.1109/TCSII.2024.339784671:10(4541-4545)Online publication date: Oct-2024
https://doi.org/10.1109/TCSII.2024.3397846
Xiang SChi XLiu HZhao CYu YKang KWu Y(2024)De-Embedding Technology for Active and Passive Device Testing Used in the Microwave and Terahertz Bands: A Review: An Overview of Different De-Embedding TechniquesIEEE Microwave Magazine10.1109/MMM.2023.334098925:3(70-83)Online publication date: Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.1109/MMM.2023.3340989
Bairamkulov RDe Micheli G(2024)Superconductive Electronics: A 25-Year Review [Feature]IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine10.1109/MCAS.2024.337649224:2(16-33)Online publication date: Oct-2025
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Perez-Bosch Quesada EMistroni AJia RDorai Swamy Reddy KReichmann FCastan HDueñas SWenger CPerez E(2024)Forming and Resistive Switching of HfO₂-Based RRAM Devices at Cryogenic TemperatureIEEE Electron Device Letters10.1109/LED.2024.348587345:12(2391-2394)Online publication date: Dec-2024
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Damsteegt ROverwater RBabaie MSebastiano F(2024)A Benchmark of Cryo-CMOS Embedded SRAM/DRAMs in 40-nm CMOSIEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits10.1109/JSSC.2024.338569659:7(2042-2054)Online publication date: Jul-2024
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Alam SHossain MNi KNarayanan VAziz A(2024)Voltage-controlled cryogenic Boolean logic gates based on ferroelectric SQUID and heater cryotronJournal of Applied Physics10.1063/5.0172531135:1Online publication date: 5-Jan-2024
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