CAREER: Maximum-Information Memory System: Theory, Implementation and Application

片上嵌入式存储器是当今S大规模集成系统中的关键部件。该项目旨在开发一种全新的存储设计方法，称为最大信息存储系统(MIMS)。其关键思想是最大化信息密度(即，每单位面积的信息比特数)或信息效率(即，每单位功率的信息比特数)。为此，将开发一个全新的信息理论框架，包括三个关键组件：(1)定量测量存储在给定存储系统中的信息比特数量的分析信息模型；(2)实现最大信息存储的多个不同电路实现选项；以及(3)高级性能度量(例如，信噪比)的综合研究，以证明所提出的MIMS系统在现实生活信号处理应用中的有效性。这些研究工作的结合将为纳米集成电路技术的下一代存储器设计提供基础设施。拟议的项目为基于信息论的存储器设计提供了一个全新的视角。预计它将在从消费电子产品(例如智能手机)到医疗器械(例如植入式医疗设备)的广泛应用中为片上存储电路带来显著的性能改进。因此，拟议的MIMS框架的成功开发将对美国工业产生短期和长期影响，并提高美国在科学和技术方面的竞争力。此外，由于该项目涵盖了多个科学和工程领域，如统计、电路等，拟议的项目为大学生和工业工程师提供了许多独特的教育和培训机会。它将大幅改善教育基础设施，培养相关领域的高素质研究人员和工程师。

On-chip embedded memory is a critical component in today?s large-scale integrated systems. This project aims to develop a completely new memory design methodology that is referred to as Maximum-Information Memory System (MIMS). The key idea is to maximize the information density (i.e., the number of information bits per unit area) or information efficiency (i.e., the number of information bits per unit power). Towards this goal, a radically new information theoretical framework will be developed with three critical components: (1) an analytical information model to quantitatively measure the number of information bits stored in a given memory system, (2) a number of different circuit implementation options to achieve maximum-information storage, and (3) a comprehensive study of high-level performance metrics (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio) to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed MIMS system in real-life signal processing applications. The combination of these research efforts would provide a fundamental infrastructure that facilitates next-generation memory design for nanoscale IC technologies.The proposed project offers a fundamentally new view of memory design based on information theory. It is expected to yield significant performance improvement for on-chip memory circuits over a broad range of applications, from consumer electronics (e.g., smart phones) to medical instruments (e.g., implantable medical devices). Hence, successful development of the proposed MIMS framework will have both short-term and long-term impacts on U.S. industry and improve U.S. competitiveness in science and technology. In addition, given its broad coverage of multiple science and engineering fields such as statistics, circuits, etc., the proposed project offers a number of unique education and training opportunities for both university students and industrial engineers. It will substantially improve the education infrastructure and generate high-quality researchers and engineers in related fields.