CAREER: Error Power and Reliability for Nano-Silicon and Beyond

University Of South Florida, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

Proposal ID: 0639624 Title: Error Power and Reliability for Nano-Silicon and Beyond PI: Sanjukta Bhanja Institution: University of South Florida ABSTRACT: Over the years, the underlying design philosophy of electronic design and analysis tools has undergone paradigm shifts from area optimization to timing optimization to power optimization and now is shifting to reliability-centric design optimization. Understanding of the interplay between errors, power dissipation in a chip with its associated side effects, and reliability problems will be the key to commercial success of sub-30nm silicon and nonsilicon technologies. It is expected that statistical theories and probabilistic methods will play significant role in the design of such reliability-centric CAD tools. In this context, the career research goal of the PI is to construct reliability-centric design and analysis tools for the inter-coupled issues of error, power and redundancy for nano-CMOS and other emerging nano-devices, such as quantum-dot cellular automata. There are two main thrusts : one in medium term problems and the other in long term problems. First, in the medium term category are problems related to nano-CMOS for which the PI will research reliability-centric design optimization and analysis tools at logic level for error, power, and reliability of nano-CMOS, taking into account process variability and circuit topology. These models would allow probabilistic abstraction of technology-dependent parameters, such as device characteristics, process parameter variations, and thermal issues, in addition to, structural dependencies among the interconnected components and input uncertainties. In the long term category are problems in novel computing paradigms using emerging nano-devices such as field-coupled computing architectures using quantum-dot cellular automata. The basic issues considered will still be the same, i.e. error, power, and reliability; however, the modeling of these will be driven by the physics of these devices to a larger extent than nano-CMOS. The career teaching goals of the PI spans traditional pedagogic activities, such as developing new courses, and educational research related to VLSI education, such as testing the hypotheses that (a) active learning, based on sensory mode of a student, or (b) "Learning by doing" promotes deeper understanding of VLSI concepts.