FALPEM: Framework for Architectural-Level Power Estimation and Optimization for Large Memory Sub-Systems

Framework is developed for estimation of power at pre register transfer level (RTL) stage for structured memory sub-systems. Power estimation model is proposed specifically targeting power consumed by clock network and interconnect. The model is validated with VCD-based simulation on back-annotated netlist of an 8 MB memory sub-system used as video RAM (VRAM) for high-end graphics applications. This methodology also forms the basis for low-power exploration driving floor plan choice, gating structure of data, and clock network. We demonstrate 57% reduction in dynamic power by using low-power techniques for the 8 MB VRAM used as frame buffer in a graphics processor. FALPEM can be extended to other applications like processor cache and ASIC designs.