Bit-wise read-compare-write scheme for low power read-modify-write DRAM operation

Abstract

To save power consumption in read-modify-write (RMW) DRAM operation, a bit-wise read-compare-write (RCW) scheme is presented. Its power consumption depends on the number of bits that have to be updated by the bit-wise compare result between the read data and the modified data. If a random bit-wise update ratio is assumed, a 11.6% power saving is achieved when the proposed scheme is applied to the previous design.