Double Adjacent Error Correction in RRAM Matrix Multiplication using Weighted Checksums

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has permeated various domains but is limited by the bottlenecks imposed by data transfer latency inherent in contemporary memory technologies. Matrix multiplication, crucial for neural network training and inference, can be significantly expedited with a complexity of O(1) using Resistive RAM (RRAM) technology, instead of the conventional complexity of $\mathrm{O}\left(n^{2}\right)$. This positions RRAM as a promising candidate for the efficient hardware implementation of machine learning and neural networks through in-memory computation. However, RRAM manufacturing technology remains in its infancy, rendering it susceptible to soft errors, potentially compromising neural network accuracy and reliability. In this paper, we propose a syndrome-based error correction scheme that employs selective weighted checksums to correct double adjacent column errors in RRAM. The error correction is done on the output of the matrix multiplication thus ensuring correct operation for any number of errors in two adjacent columns. The proposed codes have low redundancy and low decoding latency, making it suitable for high throughput applications. This scheme uses a repeating weight based structure that makes it scalable to large RRAM matrix sizes.