Voltage-based memory size scaling in a data processing system

• US 8,156,357 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2009
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VLSI Technology LLC (FIG LLC (d/b/a Fortress Investment Group LLC))
• Original Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Zhang, Shayan, Burnett, James D., Kenkare, Prashant U., Ramamurthy, Hema, Russell, Andrew C., Snyder, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, RAYMOND NGAN
• Application Number:
  US12/360,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20100191990A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,169 Days
• Field of Search: 713300-340, 711/140, 711128-129
• US Class Current: 713/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0864 using pseudo-associative means, e.g. set-associative or hashing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1028 Power efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2207/2245 Memory devices with an internal cache buffer
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 7/04 with means for avoiding disturbances due to temperature effects
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A memory has bits that fail as power supply voltage is reduced to reduce power and/or increase endurance. The bits become properly functional when the power supply voltage is increased back to its original value. With the reduced voltage, portions of the memory that include non-functional bits are not used. Much of the memory may remain functional and use is retained. When the voltage is increased, the portions of the memory that were not used because of being non-functional due to the reduced power supply voltage may then be used again. This is particularly useful in a cache where the decrease in available memory due to power supply voltage reduction can be implemented as a reduction in the number of ways. Thus, for example an eight way cache can simply be reduced to a four way cache when the power is being reduced or endurance increased.

Claims

1. A method of using a cache having a plurality of ways, comprising:

accessing the cache with a power supply voltage applied to the cache at a first value;

reducing the power supply voltage to a second value;

identifying a first set of ways of the plurality of ways as being non-functional, wherein the being non-functional is caused by the power supply voltage being at the second value, wherein the first set of ways is less than all ways of the cache, and the step of identifying the first set of ways comprises;

retrieving information that correlates non-functional ways of the cache with values of the power supply voltage;

accessing the cache exclusive of the first set of ways, wherein the step of accessing the cache exclusive of the first set of ways is performed with the power supply voltage at the second value;

increasing the power supply voltage to a third value;

identifying a second set of ways of the first set of ways that is functional with the power supply being applied at the third value; and

accessing the cache including the second set of ways.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first value and the third value are the same.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of ways includes all of the first set of ways.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the second set of ways is further characterized by the second set of ways being the same as the first set of ways.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing cache coherency operations on lines of the first set of ways prior to the step of applying the power supply at the second value.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating the cache according to an allocation policy;

altering the allocation policy responsive to the step of identifying the first set of ways; and

altering the allocation policy responsive to the step of identifying the second set of ways.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the cache is a static random access memory.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of identifying the first subset of ways portion occurs prior to the step of reducing the power supply voltage.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

asserting a request to decrease the power supply voltage prior to the step of identifying the first set of ways.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

operating the cache according to an allocation policy;

altering the allocation policy responsive to the step of identifying the first set of ways; and

altering the allocation policy responsive to the step of identifying the second set of ways.

11. A method of operating a system with a cache having a plurality of ways, comprising:

operating the cache with a power supply voltage applied at a first value according to an allocation policy;

asserting a request to decrease the power supply voltage to a second value;

identifying a first set of ways of the plurality of ways that need to be disabled based on the power supply voltage being at the second value;

masking out the first set of ways from the allocation policy;

applying the power supply voltage at the second value;

operating the cache with the power supply voltage applied at the second value according to the allocation policy with the first set of ways masked out;

applying the power supply voltage at a third value greater than the second value;

identifying a second set of ways from the first set of ways that can be added based on the power supply being applied at the third value;

adding the second set of ways to the allocation policy;

operating the cache with the power supply voltage applied at the third value according to the allocation policy with the second set of ways added.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first set of ways and the second set of ways are the same.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the third value is the same as the first value.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

performing cache coherency operations on lines of the first set of ways prior to the step of applying the power supply at the second value.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising deasserting the request to decrease the power supply voltage to a second value prior to the step of operating the cache with the power supply voltage applied at the third value according to the allocation policy with the second set of ways added.

16. A system, comprising:

a cache controller;

a cache coupled to the cache controller that has a plurality of ways, operates according to an allocation policy, and is powered by a power supply voltage; and

a processor coupled to the cache and the cache controller,

wherein;

the cache controller responds to a request generated by the processor to decrease the power supply voltage applied to the cache by identifying a first set of ways and masking the first set of ways from the allocation policy; and

the cache receives the reduced power supply voltage, is accessed by the processor exclusive of first set of ways, receives an increased power supply voltage after being accessed by the processor while receiving the reduced power supply voltage, and has a second set of ways from the first set of ways accessible by the processor while the cache is powered by the increased power supply voltage.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the allocation policy is changed by the cache controller in response to the power supply voltage changing from the decreased power supply voltage to the increased power supply voltage.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first set of ways and the second set of ways are the same.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first set of ways is identified by the cache controller accessing information that correlates non-functional portions of memory with a magnitude of the power supply voltage.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the cache controller receives a constant power supply voltage while the cache receives the power supply voltage at the increased power supply voltage and the decreased power supply voltage.