An efficient ASIC design of a content-addressable memory (CAM)

The design of an efficient content-addressable memory (CAM) where the search operation can be based on any one of the following functions: equality, greater than, less than, greater than or equal to, and less than or equal to, is discussed. This design gives the user the flexibility to choose any one function, or multiple functions with minimum increase in gate complexity, thus making it suitable for use in an ASIC environment.<>