Nortel Networks Corporation

Garnet Frederick Randall Gibson

Kenneth James Schultz

Farhad Shafai

Robert G Gibbins

Steven William Wood

A system includes cascaded content addressable memory (CAM) chips connected to a common bus. Each CAM chip includes a CAM array, a self-timed signal generator and hit propagation and match address transfer circuits. Each CAM array including an array of core cells provides, through its encoder, hit and match address signals resulting from a search operation in response to a clock signal. Each match address transfer circuit transfers the match address signal to the common bus, in response to a self-timed signal, the hit signal and a propagation-in hit signal provided from an upstream CAM chip, so that more than one CAM chip is prevented from providing the match address signal to the common bus simultaneously. Each hit propagation circuit provides a propagation-out hit signal to a downstream CAM chip, in response to the self-timed signal, the hit signal and the propagation-in hit signal from the upstream CAM chip, so that a hit signal is propagated from an upstream CAM chip to a downstream CAM chip. Each CAM chip may include an extra row for providing a modelmiss signal or a modelhit signal which is used for a generating self-timed signal. Each word may be divided into two halves and two match lines of the two halves are coupled by a logic circuit. The system may also observe a multiple match status and the highest priority chip indicating a match.

Content addressable memory system with cascaded memories and self timed signals

Disclosed is an architecture of a RAM (random access memory) with BIST (built-in self test) or functional test function. The RAM has a memory cell for storing differential or single-ended binary data and bit line signals are fully differential or single-ended. Shadow write is applied to read only and read-write bit lines. With the test function, port-to-port bit line shorts and port-to-port word line shorts are sensitized.

Multi-port random access memory

A system includes a plurality of content addressable memory (CAM) chips which are cascaded and connected to a common bus. Each of the CAM chips provides search results (hit, match address and multiple match). A hit signal and a multiple match signal are propagated from chip to chip. A system hit result is given from the furthest down stream CAM chip. The match address result of the system is given from the common bus, where on-chip self-timed signals guarantee that there is no driving contention on the bus. An example of the CAM chip includes an extra row including a model match line and modified core cells to provide a model miss signal. The self-timed signal is provided in response to the model match line. In another example of the CAM chip, each word is divided into two halves. The match lines of the two halves of the word are coupled by a NAND circuit, the output of which is coupled to an encoder of the chip. The CAM chip includes an extra row including a chain of model match lines. Two adjacent model match lines are coupled by a NAND circuit, the output of which provides the model hit signal. The self-timed signal is provided in response to the model hit signal.

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Nepean, Canada

Garnet Frederick Randall Gibson