DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF 64-BIT PRECHARGE FREE - TERNARY CONTENT ADDRESSABLE MEMORY

Abstract

The ternary content-addressable memory is a specialized type of memory that is widely applied in systems requiring high-speed data access, such as network routers and data buffers. Compared to conventional content-addressable memory, the ternary content-addressable memory offers greater flexibility by introducing a third logic state, “X” (don’t care), which can match both “0” and “1”, thereby accelerating the search process. However, due to its ability to perform parallel searches within a single clock cycle and its transistor-intensive architecture, it results in high power consumption and significant leakage current. This paper presents the design and evaluation of a precharge-free memory architecture as an energy-efficient alternative. The proposed architecture reduces the number of transistors while maintaining parallel search capability. The power consumption and performance of the 64-bit precharge-free memory are evaluated and compared with those of the conventional 64-bit memory using Cadence Virtuoso software, demonstrating superior energy efficiency and competitive performance of the proposed architecture.