coolCAM™

Novelics’ coolCAM™ moves content-addressable memory from power-hungry super-chips to ordinary embedded SoC applications that can benefit from high-performance search.

Content-Addressable Memory (CAM) is a great way to make short work of large searches. Simply present the required data to a CAM macro, and it will return the address or even perform a linked table lookup in a single cycle. Unfortunately, the power consumption of a traditional CAM architecture is so large that power distribution and heat dissipation become serious issues for large implementations.

Novelics has re-engineered CAM architecture from the ground up by directly attacking the dominant sources of active power dissipation without sacrificing silicon area.Novelics coolCAM can be configured with address-readout, table-lookup, priority-encoding, priority-decoding, or other customized options. In addition to low-power, large-macro instances, Novelics coolCAM is also available for smaller size applications such as Cache TLB.

Like all Novelics embedded memory IP, coolCAM can be customized via the Novelics MemQuest™ memory compiler, a Web-based on-line tool suite that enables the SoC designer to specify and implement custom memories in a matter of minutes.

coolCAM Features:
  • Based on patent-pending high-density, low-power cell design
  • Implemented in standard CMOS logic process
  • Multiple match outputs
  • Single-cycle match and lookup capability
  • Comprehensive search functionality
  • Supports binary and true ternary formats
  • Designer selectable power, speed and aspect ratio
  • Industry-leading active power, leakage current, density and speed
  • Supports a wide range of clock duty cycles
  • Near zero setup time
  • Optimized core and peripheral circuitry with in-situ power management
  • Standby and power-down modes
  • Selectable power and speed tradeoffs
  • Offered in major foundry leading-edge process nodes
coolCAM Benefits:
  • Significant power reduction during CAM searches using patent-pending architecture (up to 5x lower active power)
  • Ideal for networking, communications, and compression applications
  • Higher yield and reliability