8. The CAM device of claim 1 , further comprising: a search key encoder circuit having an input to receive a search key and configured to generate an encoded search key.
8. The CAM device of claim 1 , further comprising: a search key encoder circuit having an input to receive a search key and configured to generate an encoded search key. 10. The CAM device of claim 8 , further comprising: a comparand register coupled to the search key encoder circuit and configured to provide the encoded search key to the CAM array for compare operations.