Energy-efficient design of quaternary logic gates and arithmetic circuits using hybrid CNTFET-RRAM technology

Abstract

Multi-valued logic (MVL), which is an extension of binary logic, is a framework for representing complex systems with more than two truth values. This paper delves into the circuit design, computational aspects, and practical applications of the quaternary logic system, which is a type of MVL with four truth values. The multi-threshold property of carbon nanotube field-effect-transistors (CNTFET), along with resistive random-access memory (RRAM) having the capability of storing multiple resistance values, has been used in the design of quaternary logic gates and arithmetic circuits. The non-volatility in the design achieved using RRAMs enables the circuits to be used in reconfigurable logic and in-memory computational applications. The properties of RRAM, like resistance switching and multi-cell storage, have been used to optimize the proposed circuits. Quaternary logic gates such as inverter, NAND, and NOR, and quaternary arithmetic circuits including decoder, half adder, and multiplier have been designed. The power-delay-product (PDP) of the proposed quaternary inverter, NAND, NOR, half adder, and multiplier is 62.38%, 93.4%, 80.29%, 14.79%, and 20% less than the least PDP of the quaternary designs under consideration, respectively.