DDR Traffic Reshaping for Stable Low-Power Memory States

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Solution Overview

Problem

DDR memory systems face challenges in consistently entering and remaining in low-power states due to irregular memory traffic patterns, leading to frequent transitions or avoidance of power-saving modes, especially in scenarios with intermittent or low-throughput workloads.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a traffic reshaping mechanism that temporarily withholds and aggregates memory requests based on programmable thresholds, delaying processing until request and time thresholds are met, allowing the DDR memory to enter and maintain power-down states effectively.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of energy

If idle-count mechanisms are used to trigger power-down states, then power consumption is reduced, but frequent transitions occur due to scattered traffic patterns

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower consumptionVSAvoidconsistency of power-down state entry

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by preemptively delaying memory requests before they are processed, allowing the system to accumulate enough idle cycles to reliably enter power-down states. The traffic reshaping mechanism holds requests in a buffer and releases them in batches, ensuring that idle periods are long enough to trigger and sustain low-power modes before any request arrives.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamics by making the traffic reshaping thresholds programmable and adjustable. The system can dynamically adapt the number of requests to delay and the delay duration based on workload characteristics, allowing optimal balancing between power savings and performance requirements under different operating conditions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Productivity

If traffic is scattered over time, then memory can process requests continuously, but power-down states are avoided or exited prematurely

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverequest processing continuityVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies merging by combining multiple scattered memory requests into clustered batches. The traffic reshaping mechanism accumulates delayed requests and releases them together in groups, creating concentrated traffic patterns that leave longer idle periods between batches, enabling the memory to enter and maintain power-down states more effectively.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Loss of energy

If memory requests are delayed to enable power-down states, then power consumption is reduced, but latency overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower consumptionVSAvoidmemory access latency

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by selectively delaying only some requests rather than all requests. The traffic reshaping mechanism delays requests in controlled batches based on programmable thresholds, providing partial delay that is sufficient to enable power-down states but not excessive enough to cause unacceptable latency for time-critical operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS20260016880A1System and method for traffic reshaping for DDR low power control

Publication Date: 2026.01.15 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

AI summary

A system and a method are disclosed for managing memory traffic in a memory device. The method includes delaying processing of the memory traffic based on a request threshold and a time threshold; and initiating or maintaining a power-down state of the memory device during a period in which the memory traffic is delayed.