DocumentCode :
2852324
Title :
Characterization of a single-supply subthreshold FPGA
Author :
Grossmann, P. ; Leeser, Miriam ; Onabajo, Marvin
Author_Institution :
Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA, USA
fYear :
2012
fDate :
9-10 Oct. 2012
Firstpage :
1
Lastpage :
3
Abstract :
This paper presents a pair of field programmable gate array (FPGA) test chips optimized for subthreshold operation to maximize energy efficiency. Both chips were fabricated in the IBM 0.18 μm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process using the same FPGA architecture; one making use of conventional static CMOS multiplexers and one using dynamic threshold MOS (DTMOS) multiplexers. Reliable subthreshold operation is achieved for both test chips by replacing conventional SRAM with variation-tolerant interruptible latches. For the chip with conventional multiplexers, testing across eleven dice showed an average minimum operating voltage of 300 mV. A 43X reduction in power delay product (PDP) was seen compared to 1.5V operation. For the DTMOS chip, testing across four dice showed an average minimum operating voltage of 260 mV. The test results show that the DTMOS chip is more reliable at sub-300 mV, consistent with simulations. Minimum energy analysis of both test chips suggests that the minimum energy point for the FPGA occurs at subthreshold voltages.
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; SRAM chips; field programmable gate arrays; flip-flops; silicon-on-insulator; CMOS multiplexers; DTMOS multiplexers; PDP; SOI process; SRAM; dynamic threshold MOS multiplexers; energy efficiency; field programmable gate array; power delay product; silicon-on-insulator; single-supply subthreshold FPGA; test chips; variation-tolerant interruptible latches; Arrays; Field programmable gate arrays; Latches; Multiplexing; Random access memory; Robustness; Transistors; field-programmable gate array; low-power design; minimum energy operation; power-delay product; subthreshold FPGA; variation-aware design;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Subthreshold Microelectronics Conference (SubVT), 2012 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Waltham, MA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4673-1586-9
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/SubVT.2012.6404319
Filename :
6404319
Link To Document :
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