Dual-ported, pipelined, two level cache system

摘要

A novel on-chip cache memory and method of operation are provided which increase microprocessor performance. The on-chip cache memory has two levels. The first level is optimized for low latency and the second level is optimized for capacity. Both levels of cache are pipelined and can support simultaneous dual port accesses. A queuing structure is provided between the first and second level of cache which is used to decouple the faster first level cache from the slower second level cache. The queuing structure is also dual ported. Both levels of cache support non-blocking behavior. When there is a cache miss at one level of cache, both caches can continue to process other cache hits and misses. The first level cache is optimized for integer data. The second level cache can store any data type including floating point. The novel two-level cache system of the present invention provides high performance which emphasizes throughput.