DDR4 memory delivers up to 1.5x performance improvement over DDR3, running at 2.4Gbps- 3.2 Gbps, while reducing power by 25% on the memory interface. However, the shift to higher speeds degrades electrical signal integrity, especially when multiple modules are added to a system. Consequently, achieving higher capacities at more advanced speeds has become quite challenging.
Memory + Interfaces
Saving power with HBM
Ed Sperling of Semiconductor Engineering notes that power has always been a “global concern” in the design process because it affects every part of a chip. Nevertheless, partitioning for power rather than functionality or performance has not, historically, been seriously considered, although the status quo is beginning to change.
Looking beyond Dennard Scaling
Robert H. Dennard co-authored his now-famous paper for the IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits way back in 1974. Essentially, Dennard and his engineering colleagues observed that as transistors are reduced in size, their power density stays constant. Meaning, power use stays in proportion with area, as both voltage and current scale (downward) with length.
Microsoft catapults FPGAs to new heights
Karl Freund of Moore Insights and Strategy recently penned an article for Forbes about Microsoft’s extensive deployment of FPGA’s in the data center and beyond.
As Freund notes, Microsoft currently uses field programmable gate arrays to accelerate its Bing search engine (Project Catapult) along with its Azure Cloud, which has at least one FPGA in each server – delivering over one “exa op” (one billion operations per second) of total throughput across data centers in 15 countries.
Managing memory more efficiently with Milk
Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have introduced a programming language extension known as Milk that allows app developers to manage memory more efficiently in programs with scattered data points in large data sets.
Millennials heart mobile payments
A recent Square survey cited by Business Insider found that 45% of millennial respondents (18-34) have made an NFC payment. According to Business Insider, the poll is a “good indicator” of where mobile payment adoption is headed, with the publication forecasting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 80% through 2020 to reach $503 billion.