Title :
Closed-loop adaptive supply voltage scaling controller for low-power embedded processors
Author :
Dhar, Sandeep ; Mortensen, Gordon
Author_Institution :
National Semicond. Corp., Longmont, CO, USA
Abstract :
This paper describes a hardware controller that reduces active power consumption in standard cell ASICs by adaptively adjusting the supply voltage to varying performance requirements. The hardware controller is embedded on the same die as the application ASIC. It consists of a hardware performance monitor, control logic and a serial interface logic. These functions combine to form a closed-loop that regulates the speed of the application. The proposed scheme has been implemented in a video processor designed in a 0.18 μm standard CMOS process. Experimental results demonstrate operation over a wide frequency range of 6 MHz to 48 MHz and up to 60% power savings when compared to an open-loop scheme.
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; adaptive control; application specific integrated circuits; closed loop systems; embedded systems; low-power electronics; microprocessor chips; voltage regulators; 0.18 micron; 6 to 48 MHz; CMOS process; active power consumption reduction; application specific integrated circuits; closed-loop adaptive supply voltage scaling controller; control logic; hardware performance monitor; low-power embedded processors; open-loop scheme; serial interface logic; supply voltage adjustment; video processor; Adaptive control; Application specific integrated circuits; CMOS logic circuits; CMOS process; Energy consumption; Hardware; Monitoring; Process design; Programmable control; Voltage control;
Conference_Titel :
Technical, Professional and Student Development Workshop, 2005 IEEE Region 5 and IEEE Denver Section
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8898-4
DOI :
10.1109/TPSD.2005.1614339
