Static leakage reduction through simultaneous threshold voltage and state assignment

Abstract

We propose a new method that uses a combined approach of sleep-state assignment and threshold voltage (Vt) assignment in a dual-Vt process. While each of these methods has previously been used individually, their combined effect has not been leveraged to date. By combining Vt and sleep-state assignment, leakage current can be dramatically reduced since the circuit is in a known state in stand-by mode and only transistors that are off need to be considered for high-Vt assignment. A significant improvement in the leakage/performance trade-off is therefore achievable using such a combined method. We formulate the optimization problem for simultaneous state and Vt assignment under delay constraints and propose both an exact method for its optimal solution as well as a number of practical heuristics with reasonable run time. We compare our results with Vt and sleep state assignment only and demonstrate an average decrease in leakage current of 3.5/spl times/ compared to previous approaches.