| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a semiconductor memory device which has a short delay time and operates with a low power consumption, and a driving method thereof.SOLUTION: A semiconductor memory device 1 includes: an input control unit 3 that includes registers 12 to 14, a comparator 16, and a mode control unit 18; and an associative memory block 2 that is connected to the input control unit 3. Each word 4 of the associative memory block 2 includes a first-step sub-word 4a of k bits which is connected to a search line 1 of the input control unit 3; and a second-step sub-word 4b of n-k bits which is connected to a search line 2 of the input control unit 3. The first-step sub-word 4a of k bits and the second-step sub-word 4b of n-k bits are separated from each other via a segmentation circuit 5. Furthermore, the associative memory block 2 includes a matching circuit that determines whether a word to be searched for and a stored word match with each other. The matching circuit can be controlled synchronously or asynchronously for each word. |
