MemSPICE: Automated Simulation and Energy Estimation Framework for MAGIC-Based Logic-in-Memory

TL;DR

MemSPICE is an automated framework that generates SPICE netlists and testbenches from hardware descriptions to enable precise energy estimation for memristor-based logic-in-memory systems.

Contribution

It introduces the first automated method for generating SPICE netlists and testbenches from hardware descriptions for LiM, along with energy estimation scripts.

Findings

Successfully generated netlists and testbenches for ISCAS'85 benchmarks.

Enabled detailed energy analysis at the SPICE level.

Enhanced understanding of energy consumption in memristor-based LiM.

Abstract

Existing logic-in-memory (LiM) research is limited to generating mappings and micro-operations. In this paper, we present~\emph{MemSPICE}, a novel framework that addresses this gap by automatically generating both the netlist and testbench needed to evaluate the LiM on a memristive crossbar. MemSPICE goes beyond conventional approaches by providing energy estimation scripts to calculate the precise energy consumption of the testbench at the SPICE level. We propose an automated framework that utilizes the mapping obtained from the SIMPLER tool to perform accurate energy estimation through SPICE simulations. To the best of our knowledge, no existing framework is capable of generating a SPICE netlist from a hardware description language. By offering a comprehensive solution for SPICE-based netlist generation, testbench creation, and accurate energy estimation, MemSPICE empowers researchers and engineers working on memristor-based LiM to enhance their understanding and optimization of energy usage in these systems. Finally, we tested the circuits from the ISCAS'85 benchmark on MemSPICE and conducted a detailed energy analysis.