Dynamic random-access memory

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DRAM is a type of random access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor. As leakage causes the charge on a capacitor to decay, the capacitors must be refreshed periodically by specialised refresh logic.

This makes the circuit more complicated, but the advantage is that capacitors are cheap and small, so high-density, low-power memory chips can be made using this technology. The opposite of DRAM is SRAM

To do:

  • RAS/CAS
  • page mode

Special Types of DRAM

  • extended data out (EDO)
  • fast page mode
  • synchronous (SDRAM) or sometimes (SD-RAM)
  • RAMBUS (RDRAM)
  • double data rate (DDR)