A 230mV 8-bit sub-threshold microprocessor for wireless sensor network

A customized design flow for ultra-low power cell library and an 8-bit ultra-low power microprocessor for wireless sensor network application are presented in this paper. According to the logic pre-synthesis results of the 8-bit microprocessor HDL code, frequently used standard cells are collected to develop a customized sub-threshold cell library through size and structure modifications. The ultimate transistor-level netlist of the processor is generated by the RTL code re-synthesis results through cell substitution under the sub-threshold cell library. Using the SPICE simulator, experimental results show that our 8-bit microprocessor can work at a supply voltage as low as 230mV at full temperature range of all technology corners, which has a power only 79nW and the frequency 10 KHz at 230mV and room temperature. As a result, the proposed microprocessor provides a feasible solution for emerging energy-constrained applications.