Eva-CAM_v1

Sections

• Overview
• Eva-CAM Compilation
• Input Configuration
• Content Addressable Memory Types
• Search Functions

Overview

• Eva-CAM is a circuit/architecture-level modeling and evaluation tool for content addressable memories (CAMs) that can project the area, timing, dynamic energy, and leakage power of NVM-based CAMs. The NVM technologies include FeFET, RRAM, STT-MRAM, PCM. Eva-CAM supports Ternary CAM (TCAM), Analog CAM (ACAM), and Multi-bit CAM (MCAM) designs implemented in non-volatile memories, for both exact and approximate match types. It also allows for the exploration of CAM array structures and sensing circuits. Eva-CAM has been validated with HSPICE simulation results and chip measurements.
• For the version v1, we release the code for TCAM designs with exact match function. The updates for supporting Analog CAM and multi-bit CAM with best match and threshold match will be released soon.

Eva-CAM Compilation and Execution

• Eva-CAM is programmed under C++, and primarily developed on Linux OSes. It also can be compiled with other Unix-like OSes or Windows. The source code can be built using make:
  • $ make
• To run Eva-CAM, two configuration files (xxx.cfg & xxx.cell) need to be provided. For more details about input configurations, see below.
• After the users specify the configuration files, use the command ./Eva-CAM xxx.cfg to run
  • $ ./Eva-CAM xxx.cfg
  • e.g. try ./Eva-CAM 2FeFET_TCAM.cfg.

Input Configuration

Supported NVM devices

• Two-terminal: RRAM, PCM, STT-MRAM
• Three-terminal: FeFET

Content Addressable Memory Types

Search Functions

Reference

• Please refer to the following paper for details,

  Liu Liu, et al.,"Eva-CAM: A Circuit/Architecture-Level Evaluation Tool for General Content Addressable Memories", DATE 2022.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please feel free to contact us.

• Liu Liu (lliu24@nd.edu)

Acknowledgement

For more details about bank organization or CAM cell configurations, please refer to the following papers,

• S. Li et al., "NVSim-CAM: A circuit-level simulator for emerging nonvolatile memory based Content-Addressable Memory," ICCAD, 2016.
• Xiangyu Dong et al., “NVSim: A Circuit-Level Performance, Energy, and Area Model for Emerging Nonvolatile Memory”, TCAD, vol. 31, no. 7, 2012.