Abstract: A data compression/decompression processor (a single-chip VLSI data compression/decompression engine) for use in applications including but not limited to data storage and communications. The processor is highly versatile such that it can be used on a host bus or housed in host adapters, so that all devices such as magnetic disks, tape drives, optical drives and the like connected to it can have substantial expanded capacity and/or higher data transfer rate. The processor employs an advanced adaptive data compression algorithm with string-matching and link-list techniques so that it is completely adaptive, and a dictionary is constructed on the fly. No prior knowledge of the statistics of the characters in the data is needed. During decompression, the dictionary is reconstructed at the same time as the decoding occurs. The compression converges very quickly and the compression ratio approaches the theoretical limit. The processor is also insensitive to error propagation.

Abstract: A non-volatile memory cell including a pn diode and a circuit for sensing the logic state of the pn diode such that a logic one state indicates that the diode is in its normal state, while the other logic state is created by fusing the diode for creating a short circuit. The circuit for sensing the logic state of the diode includes a circuit for developing a sense voltage across the diode, a first comparator for comparing the sense voltage with a first reference voltage greater than the normal junction voltage, a second comparator for comparing the sense voltage with a second reference voltage less than the normal junction voltage but greater than the fused junction voltage and a circuit responsive to the outputs of the first and second comparators to provide an output signal which has a first value if the sense voltage is between the first and second reference voltages and a second value if the sense voltage is not between the first and second reference voltages.

Abstract: A memory coprocessor architecture and memory arbitration scheme. The coprocessor architecture includes an address generation unit (AGU), a bus control logic unit (BCL) and a combined data cache unit/stack RAM (DCUSR) unit. Each are connected through a memory arbitration unit to a data bus. The memory arbitration unit arbitrates access to the bus by assigning priorities to the coprocessor units. The AGU and the combined DCUSR are mutually exclusive coprocessors which cannot request bus access simultaneously. Hence, the AGU and the combined DCUSR are assigned equal priorities. The BCL is assigned a lower priority and must defer bus access if the AGU or the DCUSR require immediate access. The BCL is provided with a multiple entry queue for storing data temporarily pending access to the queue. A memory scoreboard mechanism is provided such that, if the queue of the BCL becomes full, the BCL can gain immediate access to the bus to allow emptying at least one entry of the queue.

Abstract: A read buffering system employs a bank of FIFOs to hold sequential read data for a number of data streams being fetched by a computer. The FIFOs are located in the memory controller, so the system bus is not used in memory accesses used to fill the stream buffer. The system stores addresses used for read requests made by a CPU, and if a next sequential address is then detected in a subsequent read request, this is designated to be a stream (i.e., sequential reads). When a stream is thus detected, data is fetched from DRAM memory for addresses following the sequential address, and this prefetched data is stored in one of the FIFOs. The system also prevents the unnecessary prefetching of data by preventing certain CPU requests from being used to detect streams. A FIFO is selected using a least-recently-used algorithm. When the CPU subsequently makes a read request for data in a FIFO, this data can be returned without making a memory access.

Abstract: An improvement in a microprocessor having a cache memory providing strong and weak write ordering modes. The microprocessor includes a terminal for receiving a signal indicating whether an external write buffer is empty and an internal signal indicating whether an internal write buffer is empty. Operation of the microprocessor is halted in the strong ordering mode if the write buffers are not empty and a hit condition occurs during a write cycle until the buffers are empty.

Abstract: A semiconductor memory device comprises a DRAM memory cell array comprising a plurality of dynamic type memory cells arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, and an SRAM memory cell array comprising static type memory cells arranged in a plurality of rows and columns. The DRAM memory cell array is divided into a plurality of blocks each comprising a plurality of columns. The SRAM memory cell array is divided into a plurality of blocks each comprising a plurality of columns, corresponding to the plurality of blocks in the DRAM memory cell array. The SRAM memory cell array is used as a cache memory. At the time of cache hit, data is accessed to the SRAM memory cell array. At the time of cache miss, data is accessed to the DRAM memory cell array. On this occasion, data corresponding to one row in each of the blocks in the DRAM memory cell array is transferred to one row in the corresponding block in the SRAM memory cell array.