State retention flip flop architectures with different tradeoffs using crystalline indium gallium zinc oxide transistors implemented in a 32-bit normally-off microprocessor

Abstract

As leakage power continues to increase when transistor sizes are downscaled, it becomes increasingly hard to achieve low power consumption in modern chips. Normally-off processors use state-retention and non-volatile circuits to make power gating more efficient with less static power. In this paper, we propose two novel state-retention flip-flop designs based on a parallel and series retention circuit architectures utilizing crystalline indium gallium zinc oxide transistors, which can achieve state retention with zero static power. To demonstrate the application of these different designs, they are implemented in a 32-bit normally-off microprocessor with an energy break-even time of 1.47 µs for the parallel type design and 0.93 µs for the series type design, at a clock frequency of 15 MHz. We show that decreasing the power supply duty cycle to 0.9%, the average current of the processor core can be decreased by over 99% using either type of flip-flop.