CSR:Large:Collaborative Research:Reclaiming Moore's Law through Ultra Energy Efficient Computing

CSR：大型：合作研究：通过超节能计算恢复摩尔定律

• 批准号: 0910606
• 负责人: David Harris
• 金额: $ 8万
• 依托单位: Harvey Mudd College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-08-01 至 2014-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0910606&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CSR; Large; Collaborative; Research; Reclaiming

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Moore?s law promises consistent increasing transistor densities for the foreseeable future. However, device scaling no longer delivers the energy gains that drove the semiconductor growth of the past several decades. This has created a design paradox: more gates can now fit on a die, but cannot actually be used due to strict power limits. In this project, we will address this energy crisis through the universal application of ?near-threshold computing? (NTC), where devices operate at or near their threshold voltage to obtain 10X or higher energy efficiency improvements. To accomplish this we focus on three key challenges that to date have kept low voltage operation from widespread use: 1) 10X loss in performance, 2) 5X increase in performance variation, and 3) 5 orders of magnitude increase in functional failure. We present a synergistic approach combining methods from algorithm and architecture levels to the circuit and technology levels. We will demonstrate NTC for applications that range from sensor-based platforms which critically depend on ultra-low power (¡ÜmW) and reduced form factor (mm3) to unlock new applications, to high-performance platforms in large data-centers, which dissipate so much power that they require co-location near dedicated cooling facilities. Our end goal is to reduce national energy consumption and environmental impact by providing dramatic gains in energy efficiency while also opening up new application areas in health care by providing for in situ monitoring of biological functions with minimum intervention.

该奖项根据 2009 年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法 111-5）提供资金。摩尔定律承诺在可预见的未来晶体管密度将持续增加。然而，器件尺寸缩小不再能带来过去几十年推动半导体增长的能源增益。这造成了一个设计悖论：现在可以在芯片上安装更多的门，但由于严格的功率限制而实际上无法使用。在这个项目中，我们将通过“近阈值计算”的普遍应用来解决这一能源危机。 (NTC)，其中设备在其阈值电压或接近阈值电压下运行以获得 10 倍或更高的能效改进。为了实现这一目标，我们重点关注迄今为止阻碍低电压操作广泛使用的三个关键挑战：1) 性能损失 10 倍，2) 性能变化增加 5 倍，以及 3) 功能故障增加 5 个数量级。我们提出了一种将算法和架构级别到电路和技术级别的方法相结合的协同方法。我们将演示 NTC 的应用范围，从基于传感器的平台（严重依赖超低功耗 (µmW) 和缩小的外形尺寸 (mm3) 来解锁新应用），到大型数据中心中的高性能平台（这些平台消耗大量功率，需要在专用冷却设施附近共置）。我们的最终目标是通过大幅提高能源效率来减少国家能源消耗和环境影响，同时通过以最少的干预对生物功能进行原位监测，开辟医疗保健领域的新应用领域。