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Energy Efficient Computing in Nanoscale CMOS: Challenges and Opportunities

Vivek K. De

Abstract

Future computing systems spanning exascale supercomputers to wearable devices demand orders of magnitude improvements in energy efficiency while providing desired performance. The system-on-chip (SoC) designs need to span a wide range of performance and power across diverse platforms and workloads. The designs must achieve robust near-threshold-voltage (NTV) operation in nanoscale CMOS process while supporting a wide voltage-frequency operating range with minimal impact on die cost. We will discuss circuit and design technologies to overcome the challenges posed by device parameter variations, supply noises, temperature excursions, aging-induced degradations, workload and activity changes, and reliability considerations. The major pillars of energy-efficient SoC designs are: (1) circuit/design optimizations for fine-grain multi-voltage & wide dynamic range, (2) fine-grain on-die power delivery & management, (3) dynamic adaptation & reconfiguration, (4) dynamic on-die error detection & correction, and (5) efficient interconnects. Experimental results from research prototypes in advanced CMOS technologies will be presented.

Biography

Vivek De is an Intel Fellow and Director of Circuit Technology Research in Intel Labs. He is responsible for providing strategic technical directions for long term research in future circuit technologies and leading energy efficiency research across the hardware stack. He has 231 publications in refereed international conferences and journals and 197 patents, with 31 more patents filed (pending). He received an Intel Achievement Award for his contributions to an integrated voltage regulator technology. He received a Best Paper Award at the 1996 IEEE International ASIC Conference, and nominations for Best Paper Awards at the 2007 IEEE/ACM Design Automation Conference (DAC) and 2008 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD). One of his publications was recognized in the 2013 IEEE/ACM Design Automation Conference (DAC) as one of the “Top 10 Cited Papers in 50 Years of DAC”. He served as the General Chair/co-Chair (2014/2013) and Program Chair/co-Chair (2012/2011) of the Symposium on VLSI Circuits, and Executive Committee Member of the 2011-2015 VLSI Symposia. He has been a member of the ISSCC High Performance Digital Subcommittee since 2013. He was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I during 2008-2010 and the IEEE Transactions of VLSI Systems during 2011-15. He has been an Associate Editor of the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits since December 2014. He was an IEEE/EDS Distinguished Lecturer in 2011. He received a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, India, a MS from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and a PhD from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, all in Electrical Engineering. He is a Fellow of the IEEE.

Vivek K. De Headshot
Vivek K. De
Intel Labs
EEB 105
7 Apr 2015, 10:30am until 11:30am