13.1 A 1Gb 2GHz embedded DRAM in 22nm tri-gate CMOS technology

CMOS technology scaling continues to drive higher levels of integration in VLSI design, which adds more compute engines on a die. To meet the overall performance-scaling needs, high-speed and high-bandwidth memory is becoming increasingly important. Conventional VLSI systems often rely on on-die SRAMs to address the performance gap between CPU and main memory, DRAM. However, with the rapid growth in capacity needs for high-performance memory, SRAM is not always sufficient to meet the demands of bandwidth-intense applications. Embedded DRAM (eDRAM) has been explored as an alternative to satisfy the high-performance and density needs in memory [1-3]. In this paper, a high-performance eDRAM based on a 22nm tri-gate CMOS technology is introduced. This eDRAM technology enables the integration of an eDRAM cell into the logic technology platform [4]. The design features a well-balanced configuration to achieve both optimal array efficiency and bandwidth. By leveraging the high-performance and low-voltage tri-gate transistor at 22nm generation, the eDRAM achieves a wide range in operating voltage, from 1.1V down to 0.7V, which is essential for low-power logic applications.