Variable-Latency Adder (VL-Adder) Designs for Low Power and NBTI Tolerance

In this paper, we proposed a new adder design called variable-latency adder (VL-adder). This technique allows the adder to work at a lower supply voltage than that required by a conventional adder while maintaining the same throughput. The VL-adder design can be further modified to overcome the effects of negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) on circuit delay. By applying VL-adder concept to a 64-bit carry-select adder design, more than 40% energy saving is obtained when a similar throughput is maintained.