On estimation of static power-peformance in TCAM

High demand on network security, and Quality of Service (QoS) along with increasing line rates made Ternary Content Addressable memories more attractive for fast searching in network routers switches for forwarding and filtering IP (Internet Protocol) signals. While high performance through parallel search is achieved in the TCAM circuits, the power dissipated in these systems is high compared to other storage devices (eg. Binary CAM). Past research on TCAM cells, mainly concentrated on optimizing dynamic power by reducing the switching activity or matchline swing. At present the power dissipation in TCAM cells is exacerbated with rapid scaling of CMOS technology, where subthreshold leakage is becoming dominant in the total power. In this research, we estimate the TCAM static power at 65nm and 45nm and propose solutions to optimize static power. A case study of four most popularly used TCAM cells is also presented with a discussion on relative performance impact.