US 9,319,047 B2 · Computation of boolean formulas using sneak paths in crossbar computing

Abstract

Memristor-based nano-crossbar computing is a revolutionary computing paradigm that does away with the traditional Von Neumann architectural separation of memory and computation units. The computation of Boolean formulas using memristor circuits has been a subject of several recent investigations. Crossbar computing, in general, has also been a topic of active interest, but sneak paths have posed a hurdle in the design of pervasive general-purpose crossbar computing paradigms. Various embodiments are disclosed which demonstrate that sneak paths in nano-crossbar computing can be exploited to design a Boolean-formula evaluation strategy. Such nano-crossbar designs are also an effective approach for synthesizing high performance customized arithmetic and logic circuits.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A circuit comprising:

a crossbar lattice having an input nanowire, an output nanowire and a plurality of memristors,
wherein each memristor in the plurality of memristors is assigned one of:
a flow state and a no-flow state in accordance with a Boolean formula such that the circuit provides at least one sneak path allowing current to flow between the input nanowire and the output nanowire when the Boolean formula is logically true.

A method for evaluation of a Boolean formula using a memristor-based crossbar circuit, the method comprising:

receiving an input Boolean formula;
and
for each memristor in a plurality of memristors of a memristor-based crossbar circuit, determining an associated state for the memristor based at least in part on the input Boolean formula such that the memristor-based crossbar circuit provides at least one sneak path allowing current to flow between an input nanowire and an output nanowire when the Boolean formula is logically true, and the associated state is one of:
a flow state and a no-flow state.

1 more element

A non-transitory computer readable medium tangibly encoded with a computer program executable by a processor to perform actions comprising:

receiving an input Boolean formula;
and
for each memristor in a plurality of memristors of a memristor-based crossbar circuit, determining an associated state for the memristor based at least in part on the input Boolean formula such that the memristor-based crossbar circuit provides at least one sneak path allowing current to flow between an input nanowire and an output nanowire when the Boolean formula is logically true, and the associated state is one of:
a flow state and a no-flow state.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Computation of boolean formulas using sneak paths in crossbar computing

Life of this patent

Computation of boolean formulas using sneak paths in crossbar computing

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20