On-chip magnetics for power management and delivery in multicore processors

本研究的目的是开发一类新的片上功率电子电路，这将使未来的多核处理器的高粒度，主动电源管理，允许能量延迟权衡工作负载变化的存在下进行。该方法基于在标准CMOS运行中引入磁性材料作为“后处理”。 智力优势。 目前的实现方式采用片外板级电压调节，并从片外引入独立的电源电压。 这种方法是不可扩展的，并且需要以高度扩展的电压电平向芯片输送功率，从而导致不可持续的电流需求。我们专门讨论了无源磁性器件如何通过提供高密度的片上能量存储来显著改善片上电源管理和传输电路的设计。 我们将创新可在传统CMOS工艺上实现的新型磁性器件（电感器和GMR传感器）。 更广泛的影响。 该项目将允许PI在真正的跨学科研究环境中培养研究生和本科生，结合物理学，纳米材料，电路设计和电力电子应用。 这项研究工作还将为哥伦比亚电力电子学的新课程提供支持，特别强调集成方法，弥合电力电子社区和传统集成电路设计社区之间的脱节。通过在该计划内系统地培训积极性高的高中生，并加强与当地K-12教育工作者的互动，将为K-12的推广做出重大努力。

The objective of this research is to develop a new class of on-chip power electronics circuits that will enable highly granular, active power management for future multicore processors, allowing energy-delay trade-offs to be performed in the presence of workload variability. The approach is based on the introduction of magnetic materials as a "post-process" on a standard CMOS run. Intellectual Merit. Current implementations employ off-chip, board-level voltage regulation and bring in independent supply voltages from off-chip. Such approaches are not scalable and require that power be delivered to the chip at highly scaled voltage levels, leading to unsustainable current demands. We specifically address how passive magnetic devices can dramatically improve the design of on-chip power management and delivery circuits by providing for high density energy storage on-chip. We will innovate new magnetic devices (inductors and GMR sensors) that can be implemented on a conventional CMOS process. Broader Impacts. This project will allow the PIs to train graduate and undergraduate students in a truly cross-disciplinary research environment combining physics, nanoscale materials, circuit design, and power electronics applications. This research effort will also feed a new course at Columbia on power electronics, with a special emphasis on integrated approaches, bridging the disconnect between the power electronics community and the traditional integrated circuit design community. Significant effort will be made for K-12 outreach by systematically training highly motivated high school students within the program and also enhancing the interaction with the local K-12 educators.