FeMPIM: A FeFET-Based Multifunctional Processing-in-Memory Cell

The Von-Neumann memory wall bottleneck that keeps expanding is mainly caused by the frequent data transfer between the main memory and the processor. The processing in-memory (PiM) capabilities of emerging nonvolatile devices have the potential to partially alleviate the memory wall problem. In this brief, we use the ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FeFET), one of the emerging nonvolatile devices, to design a multifunctional processing in-memory cell, namely FeMPIM. It can perform multiple logic operations in computing mode as well as content searching in ternary content-addressable memory (TCAM) mode. Simulation results demonstrate the multifunctional capability of the proposed FeMPIM as well as its moderate overhead when compared with the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) based and the existing FeFET-based devices.