A robust ultra-low voltage CPU utilizing timing-error prevention
: Markus Hiienkari, Jukka Teittinen, Lauri Koskinen, Matthew Turnquist, Jani Mäkipää, Arto Rantala, Matti Sopanen, Mikko Kaltiokallio
Publisher: MDPI AG
: 2015
: Journal of Low Power Electronics and Applications
: 5
: 2
: 57
: 68
: 12
: 2079-9268
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jlpea5020057
: www.mdpi.com/2079-9268/5/2/57/
To minimize energy consumption of a digital circuit, logic can be operated at sub- or near-threshold voltage. Operation at this region is challenging due to device and environment variations, and resulting performance may not be adequate to all applications. This article presents two variants of a 32-bit RISC CPU targeted for near-threshold voltage. Both CPUs are placed on the same die and manufactured in 28 nm CMOS process. They employ timing-error prevention with clock stretching to enable operation with minimal safety margins while maximizing performance and energy efficiency at a given operating point. Measurements show minimum energy of 3.15 pJ/cyc at 400 mV, which corresponds to 39% energy saving compared to operation based on static signoff timing.