Nonvolatile circuits as building blocks

PROMs and EEPROMs, which have become established as standard forms of memory, are also moving beyond the boundries of traditional memory organizations. They are being used as reprogrammable, nonvolatile building blocks within microcomputers, logic arrays and custom circuits. In a sense, these building blocks form the heart of a family of circuits that can "learn and remember". Issues that face both the designer and end user of these VLSI circuits include field reliability, testability, cost/benefit tradeoffs and the choice of technical approach. Panelists will describe their views on nonvolatile functions within their own applications, describing design requirements, comparing with competing approaches, and forecasting the direction of future forms of non-volatile circuits.