Asymmetric SRAM Memory Cell for Power Reduction

The main objective of this paper is to present the reasons for the preference of asymmetric SRAM cell over symmetric SRAM for cache memory applications. Since memory is main and consists a large part of systems, nearly fifty percent, reducing the power and delay in memories have become a hot burning issue. Almost half of the total CPU (central processing unit) dissipation is due to memory operations. SRAM memory is an essential building block for all processors and VLSI systems. Ideally, a SRAM cell should be fast and should dissipate low leakage power. Traditional SRAM cells are symmetrically composed of transistors with identical leakage and threshold characteristics, whereas asymmetric SRAM cell designs offer low leakage with little or no impact on latency.