The AMchip: a full-custom CMOS VLSI associative memory for pattern recognition

An associative memory full custom CMOS VLSI chip (AMchip), to be used in fast trigger systems for pattern recognition has been designed and is being successfully tested at INFN in Pisa. The AMchip is the first full-custom associative memory IC developed for high-energy physics. It contains about 140000 MOS transistors, has been realized in 1.5- mu m, double-metal, silicon gate CMOS technology, and is housed in a 120-pin package. The AMchip has been designed to be used with any kind of detector which provides output in hits coordinates, such as, for example, a silicon microstrip detector. The authors plan to realize a novel AMchip version using submicron technology and new circuit solutions, improving the pattern capacity by a factor 4, and significantly improving the speed. These versions will be developed to match new high-energy physics experiments specific requirements (for example, those of the Collision Detector Facility Silicon Vertex Tracker).<>